Gabriela Mistral-OL Literature

Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957) was born in Chile. She was a daughter of a poet and began to write poetry as a village school teacher after a passionate romance with a railway employee, who committed suicide. She taught elementary and secondary school for many years until her poetry made her famous. She, who played an important role in the educational systems of Mexico and Chile, was active in cultural committees of the League of Nations, and was Chilean consul in Naples, Madrid, and Lisbon. She held honorary degrees from the Universities of Florence and Guatemala and was an honorary member of various cultural societies in Chile as well as in the United States, Spain, and Cuba. She taught Spanish Literature in the United States at Columbia University, Middlebury College, Vassar College, and at the University of Puerto Rico.