Cintio Vitier

Cintio Vitier ( born September 25, 1921 in Key West, Florida; † October 1, 2009 in Havana ) was a Cuban poet.

Vitier, who was born as the son of Cuban parents in Florida, already published in 1938 at the age of 17, his first poetry book " Poemas " with an introduction by the Spanish poet and later Nobel Prize winner, Juan Ramón Jiménez, who had the poems also selected.

Besides being a poet, he was also a novelist, literary critic and literary theorist, and as such one of the founders of the literary magazine " Origen ," one of the most important publications of its kind in Latin America, edited by José Lezama Lima.

Other books of poetry written by him were:

• " Testimonies ", 1968 ( anthology of work from 1953 to 1968 )
• " La Fecha al Pie", 1981 ( works 1969-1975 )
• " Antologia Poetica ", 1981
• " Hojas Perdidizas ", 1988
• " Poemas de Mayo Junio ​​a ", 1990

But was Vitier also worked as a professor for many years devoted himself to the work of the hero of the Cuban War of Independence in 1895, José Martí, and was for many years director of the Center for Martí Studies.

For his contribution to Cuban culture, he has won several awards. In 1988 he received along with Dora Alonso the "Premio Nacional de Literatura de Cuba " and the 2002 Juan Rulfo Prize -. In addition, the José Marti Medal and the Medal of the Cuban Academy of Sciences awarded him. He also received honorary doctorates from the University of Havana, the Universidad Central de Las Villas and the Soka University, a private Japanese university in Hachioji in western Tokyo Prefecture.

In April 2003 Vitier belonged to a group of prominent Cuban cultural workers who signed one in the newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party, Granma published open letter, which was sent to friends of Cuba in the world and international criticism of the human rights policy of the Cuban government as anti-Cuban campaign of vilification rejected: in the weeks before President Fidel Castro had in a known as the " black spring" crackdown 75 critical journalists and civil rights activists sentenced to long prison terms in summary proceedings and leave three young black Cubans after the bloodless failed attempt of a ship hijacking also executed after summary trials.

Vitier many years was married to the poet Fina García- Marruz, which also received the 1990 National Literature Prize of Cuba.