REYES, ALFONSO

born , May 17, 1889, Monterrey, Mex. died Dec. 27, 1959, Mexico City poet, short-story writer, essayist, literary scholar and critic, educator, and diplomat, generally considered one of the most distinguished Mexican men of letters of the 20th century. While still a student, Reyes established himself as an original scholar and an elegant stylist with the publication of Cuestiones estticas (1911; Aesthetic Questions). After receiving his degree in law in 1913, he interrupted his diplomatic career, begun in Paris (1913), by studying and teaching in Madrid at the Centro de Estudios Histricos (191419). He served in the Mexican diplomatic service in Spain (192027) and as ambassador to Argentina (1927, 193637) and to Brazil (193036, 193839), and was also frequently a cultural representative of Mexico at various international conferences. During these years he published both scholarly and creative works, distinguishing himself equally in poetry and prose. The poetry of Visin de Anhuac (1917; Vision of Anhuac), the dialogues and sketches of El plano oblicuo (1920; The Oblique Plane), and the essays of Reloj de sol (1926; Sundial) reveal the diversity of Reyes' forms and themes. In scholarship and criticism he was equally versatile, specializing in classical Greek literature and Spanish literature of the Golden Age. He also translated English and French works into Spanish and wrote such general works as La experiencia literaria (1942; The Literary Experience). By the time Reyes returned permanently to Mexico in 1939, on his retirement from the diplomatic service, his position as the master of Mexican letters was virtually unchallenged. He continued to be active in public life and in education while maintaining a vast literary output until his death.