Vallejo, César (1892–1938)

Peruvian poet. An exponent of avant-garde poetry and a powerful advocate of social equality, Vallejo became the most influential Latin American poet of his generation. His first collection, Los heraldos negros/The Dark Heralds 1919, contained abiding themes of loss of family, alienation, and unhappy love. Further works, written during his imprisonment for political activities, are marked by their stylistic complexity.

Vallejo was born into a poor family, experiencing deprivation and injustice at first hand. In 1923, he left Peru to live the remainder of his life in exile, first in France and later in Spain. Many of Vallejo's works – for example, Poemas humanos/Human Poems 1939 and the posthumous Espana, aparta de mi este caliz/Spain, Take this Cup from Me 1940 – focus on his struggle to reconcile the role of poet with his communist convictions.