GOMEZ DE AVELLANEDA, GERTRUDIS

born March 23, 1814, Puerto Prncipe, Cuba died Feb. 1, 1873, Madrid, Spain Cuban playwright and poet who is considered one of the foremost Romantic writers of the 19th century and one of the greatest women poets. In 1836 Gmez went to Spain, where, except for a short period from 1859 to 1863, she lived for the rest of her life. During her Cuban stay she had a strong influence on Cuban literature. Her first poems, originally published under the pseudonym of La Peregrina (The Pilgrim), were collected in 1841 into a volume entitled Poesas lricas ("Lyrical Poems"). Combining the classical style of Manuel Jos Quintana with her own romantic vision, tinged with a pessimism born of much personal suffering, these poems rank among the most poignant in all Spanish literature. Her plays, distinctive for their poetic diction and lyrical passages, are based chiefly on historic models; her play Alfonso Munio (1844; rev. ed., Munio Alfonso, 1869), based on the life of Alfonso X, and Sal (1849), a biblical drama, achieved popular success. Her novels, such as Sab (1841), an anti-slavery work, are now almost completely forgotten. Twice widowed and with many lovers, she has been the subject of several biographies.