FLOREZ (Julio).
Poesias Escogidas: Contiene Gran Numero de Producciones Ineditas.
THE LAST TROUBADOUR
Having previously published Cardos y lirios (1903), Manojo de zarsas (1906), Fronda Lirica (1908) and Gotas de ajenjo (1909), this selection of his poetry published by the historic Imprenta Pan-Americana, presumably to capitalise on his popularity across the spanish speaking community in Texas.
Julio Flórez (1867-1925) was a celebrated Colombian poet, born in Chiquiquirá. A loose translation of a biographical notice in the accompanying 1959 edition of his Los Mejores Versos tells us that his bohemian attire caused as much notice as his poetry. So much so he was known as “the last troubador.” Unlike his modernist colleagues, his poetry was very much in the Romantic tradition. The text here states that while his contemporaries may have surpsassed him in terms of craft, he is “the quintessential romantic bard, the one who has most deeply descended into the very soul and heart of the people.” Many of his poems were turned into popular songs, and he was named Colombia’s national poet shortly before his death.
We find later editions published in Bogota in 1945 and Havana in 1961, but none earlier than this.
