MARTNEZ ESTRADA, EZEQUIEL

born Sept. 14, 1895, San Jos de la Esquina, Arg. died Nov. 4, 1964, Baha Blanca leading Argentine writer of the postmodernist generation who influenced many younger writers. He worked for 30 years (191646) at the Buenos Aires post office while also teaching initially in a preparatory school and later at the university there. He began his literary career with essays in the journal Nosotros (1917). His first book of poems, Oro y piedra (1918; Gold and Stone), was followed by Nefelibal (1922), Motivos del cielo (1924; Heaven's Reasons), Argentina (1927), and Humoresca (1929). These displayed very complex techniques. Language and imagery are often tinted with humour, conveying a satirical view reminiscent of Quevedo, the master satirist of Spain's Golden Age. His view of the political and economic crises of the early 1930s and of what he saw as factors contributing to moral and social decay in Argentina led him to write Radiografa de la pampa (1933; X-Ray of the Pampa, 1971), a comprehensive psychological study of the Argentine character laden with fatalistic overtones. La cabeza de Goliat: microscopia de Buenos Aires (1940; The Head of Goliath: A Microscopic Study of Buenos Aires) treats the people of Buenos Aires and continues the themes of Radiografa. Martnez Estrada's many studies of literary figures and texts made him a respected critic. His analyses include those of the 19th-century Argentine narrative poem by Jos Hernndez, Martn Fierro, Muerte y transfiguracin del Martn Fierro, 2 vol. (1948; The Death and Transfiguration of Martin Fierro); El mundo maravilloso de Guillermo Enrique Hudson (1951; The Wonderful World of Guillermo Enrique Hudson); and El hermano Quiroga (1957; Brother Quiroga). From 1960 to 1962 he worked with the Cuban government publishing house Casa de las Amricas.