José Emilio Pacheco
Winner of the 2003 International Octavio Paz Prize for Poetry and Essay
José Emilio Pacheco Winner of the 2003 Internacional Octavio Paz Prize for Poetry and Essay. Who is José Emilio Pacheco? A Distinguished University Professor and esteemed member of the faculty of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese of the SLLC, a beloved professor surrounded by students, but also a recognized and honored creative writer and critic. So far, in this year 2003 alone, José Emilio Pacheco received singular honors for having one of the top ten creative works in each of two categories, Novel (for Las batallas en el desierto) and Poetry (for Tarde o temprano 1958-2000). He also has been presented with two honorary doctorates from Mexican universities, and now, he was just named the winner of the Premio Internacional Otavio Paz de Poesía y Ensayo 2003. This prestigious award, created by the 1990 Nobel Laureate of Literature to honor writers in the Hispanic world, was bestowed unanimously upon José Emilio Pacheco in recognition of his outstanding achievements. Among his previous awards and prizes are the Premio Nacional de Poesía Aguascalientes 1969, the Xavier Villaurrutia Prize in 1973, and the Premio Nacional de Literatura y Lingüística in 1991. He has been a member of the Colegio Nacional of Mexico since 1986.
We are pleased and proud to share the news that the January 2003 number of NEXOS, a distinguished journal that serves as a cultural arbiter in Mexico and perhaps in all Latin America, announced the ten top works of literature of the last 25 years in various categories. It is a pleasure to announce that in this important review, THREE distinguished faculty members associated with the Department of Spanish and Portuguese of the School of Languages Literatures, and Cultures, University of Maryland, were selected. Distinguished University Professor José Emilio Pacheco is the ONLY writer to be singled out in two different categories. Professor Pacheco's novel, Las batallas en el desierto (1981) was chosen as one of the ten best novels of the thousands of novels published in the last 25 years. His collection of poetry, Tarde o temprano 1958-2000, was selected in the top ten titles of poetry collections.
photo © Monica Herrera
