Isaac Felipe Azofeifa

Isaac Felipe Azofeifa (1912 - April 1997) was a Costa Rican poet, politician and educator.

Azofeifa is considered one of the most important Costa Rican poets of the twentieth century.

Biography

He was born in Santo Domingo de Heredia, Costa Rica in 1912.

In 1929 he entered the Instituto Pedagógico de Santiago de Chile (Pedagogical Institute of Santiago), where he became Professor of State in Castilian. He became a member of the "Runrunismo" group where he met poets such as Pablo Neruda and Juvencio Valle. In 1935 he returned to Costa Rica and it dedicated his life to literature, the education and politics. He won second place in a contest to write a diary of Costa Rica. From 1943 until his retirement, he was professor of Literature in the University of Costa Rica.

He spent many years reading literature, and published his first poem book, "Truncates Unit" in 1958. He then went on to publish "Vigilia en pie de muerte" (1962), "Canción" (1964), "Estaciones" (1967) and "Días y territorios" (1969), among others.

Azofeifa obtained important distinctions and prizes: Academic of the Language; National prize of Poetry and in 1972 the National Prize of the Magón Culture. Politically, Azofeifa was one of the main leaders of the left in Costa Rica, being a militant of the Partido Comunista Costarricense, Vanguardia Popular, and a founding member of the Fuerza Democrática.

He passed away in April of 1997.

Works

*Trunca Unidad (1958)
*Vigilia en pie de muerte (1962)
*Canción (1964)
*Estaciones (1967)
*Días y territorios (1969)
*Cima del gozo (1974)
*Cruce de vía (1982)
*Órbita (1996)