Alfonsina Storni

Biography of Alfonsina Storni

Alfonsina Storni was born in Capriasca, Switzerland on May 29, 1892, and is considered one of the great poets and writers of Argentine Modernism. Her verses stand out for their strong affirmation of the feminine perspective of the world, which allowed her to take a prominent place in the Hispanic-American literary scene. Together with Gabriela Mistral and Juana de Ibarbourou, her contemporaries, she formed the first wave of fighters for the recognition of women in American Literature.

 

Beginnings and family life

Alfonsina Storni was born as the third child of Alfonso Storni and Paulina Martignoni, in Capriasca, Switzerland. At four years old, the family decided to move to San Juan, Argentina, where after a few years, her brother Hildo was born. However, due to the precarious economic situation, the family moved to Rosario in 1901, where they opened a cafe to survive.

At 12 years old, Alfonsina wrote her first poem, focused on the theme of death, and left it under her mother’s pillow for her to read. Despite the scoldings received, her mother explained to her that life is sweet. Her father, who was depressive and alcoholic, passed away in 1906 and Alfonsina began working in a hat workshop. Her mother remarried and moved to Butinza, leaving Alfonsina in charge of her education and work. Despite the economic and family difficulties, Alfonsina continued writing poems and working on her literary development.

“I keep going round and round these streets; wherever I go, the silent walls follow me, and behind them, I vainly want to know if men die or dream.” Alfonsina Storni

 

Studies and early jobs of Alfonsina Storni

Alfonsina Storni moved to Coronda to study at the Magisterium and work as a school monitor. However, she soon realized that the money she had left after paying her rent was not enough to live on. So, she decided to make trips to Rosario to sing as a chorus girl in a small theater. Her family in Coronda found out about her job as a singer and Alfonsina, thinking about the social stigma, considered the idea of taking her own life. However, she abandoned this idea and the following year, in 1991, she obtained the title of teacher and worked that same fall in a school in Rosario.

 

Obra de Alfonsina Storni

Alfonsina Storni published her first verses in the magazines “Mundo Rosariano”, “Monos y Monadas” while going through her first love disappointment with an older and married man, who left her pregnant. Due to the shame this generated, she decided to seek refuge in Buenos Aires and gave birth to her son, Alejandro, in April 1912.

Later, she worked as a cashier in a store and collaborated in “Caras y Caretas” as a psychological correspondent. There, she wrote her first book of verses “La inquietud del rosal”, which was published thanks to the help of poet Felix B. Visillac, who was fascinated by her work.

From then on, her work was praised by the magazine “Nosotros” and she began to be known and admired in literary circles. However, her economic problems did not decrease. Later, she was appointed director of a school and wrote her second book “El dulce daño” while working there.

In March 1918, due to a nervous crisis, she was forced to leave her position as director and returned to literary circles, publishing her second poem collection and collaborating in “Atlántida” while returning to work as a school monitor in another school. In 1919, she published “Irremediablemente” and was praised by critics.

“The man who speaks ill of women, pleases the perverse, flatters the mediocre and repulses the dignified woman.” Alfonsina Storni

A year later, she was invited to give lectures at the University of Montevideo. That same year, she published “Languidez” and a chair was created for her at the Teatro Infantil Lavardén, where she began teaching children. As her fame grew, her neurotic behavior also worsened, so she decided to retire to Los Cocos on several occasions throughout her life.

After winning the First Municipal Prize for Poetry and the Second National Prize for Literature in 1922 for her work “Languidez”, the Minister of Public Instruction decided to create a chair for her at the National School of Living Languages a year later.

In 1925, she published “Ocre”, a poetry collection that marked her departure from modernism and had a high realistic content, and in 1926 she published “Poems of Love”. She continued to publish her work until 1927, when she premiered a play called “El amo del mundo” which was a failure and did not even last three days on the bill. However, this did not stop her from writing plays and in 1932 she published “Two Pyrotechnic Farces”.

In the 30s, she made two trips to Europe with her friend Blanca de la Vega, looking for a way to forget her mental problems. After returning from the last trip, she was diagnosed with a tumor in her breast which was successfully removed, but she had to continue with a painful radiation therapy that she decided to stop. Alfonsina Storni then withdrew and went out very rarely, spending her last years in fear of death.

On October 25, 1938, her body was found on the beach of La Perla, in Mar del Plata. She had achieved her goal of letting herself be embraced by the sea, taking her beyond her mortal existence. The next day, her last poem “Quiero dormir” was published in La Nación.

Flower teeth, dew cap,
hands of herbs, you, fine nurse,
lay me on the earthy sheets
and the moss-plucked comforter.

I’m going to sleep, my nurse, lay me down.
Put a lamp by my head,
a constellation, whichever you like,
they’re all good; lower it a bit.

Leave me alone: you hear the sprouts breaking,
a celestial foot rocks you
and a bird plays you some notes

so you forget. Thank you… Ah, one request,
if he calls again on the phone
tell him not to insist, that I’ve gone out…

It should be noted that the work of this poet is a reflection of drama, struggle, and unusual audacity for her time. Her themes are mainly about love, feminism and depth, where she reflects a unique character, often marked by neurosis.

Her death, is a trace of her transgressive personality. Her tragic suicide, was the only way that allowed her to escape a painful cancer illness and the loneliness that was invading her, and became unbearable.

Alfonsina Storni, considered that suicide was a choice that is granted to us by free will and she had expressed this in a poem dedicated to her friend and lover, the also suicidal poet Horacio Quiroga. This is the reason why there are numerous romantic versions that assure that she slowly entered the sea until drowning; some of these versions have served to compose the famous song “Alfonsina and the sea”, which is entirely inspired by how she took her life.

Her body was initially honored in that seaside city where she gave her last breath in that sea that had fascinated her so much, and finally was transferred to Buenos Aires. Currently, her remains are buried in the Chacarita Cemetery.