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Rubén Darío Papers 1882-1945 (bulk 1882-1915)

MSS-339


Overview of the Collection

CreatorDarío, Rubén, 1867-1916
Title: Rubén Darío Papers
Dates: 1882-19451882-1915
Quantity: 5 Boxes (2.38 Linear Feet)
Abstract:The Rubén Darío Papers contain approximately 900 handwritten pages of poetry, essays, short stories, diplomatic memos, and personal letters created by Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío (1867-1916). These manuscripts document Darío's life and work as a journalist, diplomat, and poet between 1882 and 1915.
Identification: MSS-339
Language: Material primarily in Spanish with some French and English.
Repository: Arizona State University Libraries Special Collections
Arizona State University Libraries
P.O. Box 871006
Tempe, AZ 85287-1006
Phone: 480 965 4932
Fax: 480 965 776
E-Mail: archives@asu.edu

Biographical Note

Rubén Darío was born on January 18, 1867 in Metapa, Nicaragua, currently known as Ciudad Darío. He is recognized as one of Latin America's most famous poets and as Nicaragua's most revered cultural figure. Throughout his short life, Darío worked as a journalist (most notably in Argentina and Chile), as a diplomat (he held official posts for the Nicaraguan government in Spain and France), and as a poet and author of essays and other literary works. He is considered the founder of modernism/modernismo, a 20th-century Latin American literary movement. Darío died on February 16, 1916 in León, Nicaragua.


Scope and Content Note

This collection consists of approximately 900 handwritten pages of poetry, essays, short stories, diplomatic memos, and personal letters created by Rubén Darío between 1882 and 1915. Many of the manuscripts are transcripts of original documents written in Darío's hand.

Series I: Correspondence contains correspondence from Darío to political figures, renowned writers, and family members and is organized by date. Darío wrote several of the letters during his time as Nicaragua's Ambassador to Spain under the presidency of José Santos Zelaya, who was the recipient of several of the documents. Other letters are addressed to Darío's romantic partner, Francisca Sánchez. Ten of the letters are directed to Mexican poet Amado Nervo (1870-1919). Other recipients include Emilio de Arriaga, Pedro Balmaceda Toro, Ernesto Bermúdez, Luis Bonafoux, Francisco Castro, Benigno Díez Salcedo, Rodolfo Espinosa, Fermín Estrella, Vicente Gasset, and Crisanto Medina.

Series II: Receipts and Bank Records houses receipts to and from various individuals. Two of the receipts detail payments received by Darío for written works. Series III: Documents in French includes documents detailing bank transactions. Two items in Series III (Box 2, Folder 10 and Box 2, Folder 14) were found to have been classified incorrectly after reformatting was complete. These documents were removed to Series II but the box and folder numbers were not changed in order to maintain the connection between the original documents and their digital surrogates.

Series IV: Poetry and Creative Works is the largest series in the collection. It contains poetry and other creative works written by Darío and is organized alphabetically. Several of the documents are what Darío called "faithful transcriptions" of works published. Handwritten notations on some of the manuscripts detail the specific dates, locations, and dedications of particular works. In some cases, multiple versions of a single work are included. For example, the collection contains two distinct versions of "Los motivos del lobo" (1913) and three versions of "Sonatina", one of which is written in English.

Series V: Collection History consists of documents relevant to the provenance of the collection, including a newspaper clipping that contains the obituary for Alejandro Bermúdez, Rubén Darío's personal secretary. Series VI: Restricted Materials consists of a single box of manuscripts restricted for security reasons. Photocopies of these items have been placed in the collection for research use.


Arrangement

This collection consists of five boxes divided into six series:
Series I: Correspondence
Series II: Receipts and Bank Records
Series III: Documents in French
Series IV: Poetry and Creative Works
Series V: Collection History
Series VI: Restricted Materials

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Researchers may only work with one folder at a time. Each folder must be returned to its box before the next is removed.

Correspondence between Rubén Darío and Amado Nervo and Darío's English "Sonatina" have been removed to Series IV: Restricted Documents for security reasons. Photocopies of these items have been placed in the collection for research use. Contact Archives and Special Collections for more information about accessing the original manuscripts.

Copyright

Arizona State University does not own copyright to this collection. The Department of Archives and Special Collections recognizes that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.


Related Material

Researchers may access digital versions of all the documents in this collection through Arizona State University's Digital Repository at http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.C.147.


Access Terms

Balmaceda Toro, Pedro, 1868-1889.
Bermúdez, Alejandro, d. 1933.
Bermúdez, Ernesto (Victor Ernesto), 1872-1962.
Darío, Rubén, 1867-1916.
Medina, Crisanto.
Nervo, Amado, 1870-1919.
Salcedo, Benigno Díez.
Zelaya, José Santos, 1853-1919.
Authors, Nicaraguan.
Diplomats -- Nicaragua.
Nicaragua -- Foreign relations -- Britain.
Nicaragua -- Foreign relations -- France.
Nicaragua -- Foreign relations -- Spain.
Nicaragua -- History.
Poets, Nicaraguan.

Administrative Information

Credit Line

Rubén Darío Papers, MSS-339. Arizona State University Libraries: Special Collections.

Provenance

Archives and Special Collections purchased these papers in 2012 (Accession #2012-04548).


Container List

Series I: Correspondence
Box 1Folder 1Letter, Rubén Darío to Francisco Castro, 1882 July 3 (2 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 1Folder 2Letter, Rubén Darío to Pedro Balmaceda, 1888 January 8 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 3Letter, Rubén Darío to Pedro Balmaceda, 1888 January 12 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 4Letter, Rubén Darío to Pedro Balmaceda, 1888 January 20 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 5Letter, Rubén Darío to Pedro Balmaceda, 1888 February 10 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 6Letter, Rubén Darío to Pedro Balmaceda, 1888 February 22 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 7Letter, Rubén Darío to Pedro Balmaceda, 1888 February 28 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 8Letter, Rubén Darío to Pedro Balmaceda, 1888 May 3 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 9Letter, Rubén Darío to Pedro Balmaceda, 1888 May 8 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 10Letter, Rubén Darío to Pedro Balmaceda, 1888 May 15 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 11Letter, Rubén Darío to Francisca Sánchez, 1903 May 18 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 12Letter, Rubén Darío to Francisca Sánchez, 1903 May 26 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 13Letter, Rubén Darío to Francisca Sánchez, 1903 June 12 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 14Letter, Rubén Darío to Francisca Sánchez, 1903 June 16 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 15Letter, Rubén Darío to Luis Bonafoux, circa 1907 August 19 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 16Letter, Rubén Darío to Sr. Presidente J. S. Zelaya, 1908 January 29 (1 Page; Double-Sided)
Box 1Folder 17Letter, Rubén Darío to General y Presidente J. S. Zelaya, 1908 May 13 (1 Page; Double-Sided)
Box 1Folder 18Letter, Rubén Darío to Consul of Managna in London, 1908 May 23 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 19Letter, Rubén Darío to Sr. Consul de Nicaragua, 1908 May 23 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 20Letter, Rubén Darío to Ernesto Bermúdez, 1908 May 26 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 21Letter, Rubén Darío to Ernesto Bermúdez, 1908 May 26 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 22Letter, Rubén Darío to Benigno Díez Salcedo, 1908 May 29 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 23Letter, Rubén Darío to Benigno Díez Salcedo, 1908 May 29 (1 Page)
At the time this letter was written, Salcedo was serving as the Nicaraguan Minister in Mexico.
Box 1Folder 24Letter, Rubén Darío to Rodolfo Espinosa, 1908 June 11 (4 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 1Folder 25Letter, Rubén Darío to Fermín Estrella, 1908 June 19 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 26Letter, Rubén Darío to Vicente Gasset, 1908 June 19 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 27Letter, Rubén Darío to General y Presidente J. S. Zelaya, 1908 July 2 (1 Page; Double-Sided)
Box 1Folder 28Letter, Rubén Darío to Santiago Argüello, 1908 July 29 (1 Page; Double-Sided)
Box 1Folder 29Letter, Rubén Darío to Amado Nervo, 1908 September 2 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 30Letter, Rubén Darío to Amado Nervo, 1908 September 8 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 31Letter, Rubén Darío to Amado Nervo, 1908 September 10 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 32Letter, Rubén Darío to Amado Nervo, 1908 September 15 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 33Letter, Rubén Darío to General y Presidente J. S. Zelaya, 1908 September 15 (1 Page; Double-Sided)
Box 1Folder 34Letter, Rubén Darío to Amado Nervo, 1908 October 1 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 35Letter, Rubén Darío to Crisanto Medina, 1908 October 4 (1 Page)
At the time this letter was written, Medina was the Nicaraguan minister in Paris.
Box 1Folder 36Letter, Rubén Darío to Amado Nervo, 1908 October 6 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 37Letter, Rubén Darío to Emilio de Arriaga, 1908 October 12 (1 Page)
At the time this letter was written, de Arriaga was the Nicaraguan Consul in Bilbao.
Box 1Folder 38Letter, Rubén Darío to Amado Nervo, 1908 October 12 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 39Letter, Rubén Darío to Amado Nervo, 1908 October 15 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 40Letter, Rubén Darío to General y Presidente J. S. Zelaya, 1908 December 13 (1 Page; Double-Sided)
Box 1Folder 41Letter, Rubén Darío to General y Presidente J. S. Zelaya, 1908 December 20 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 42Letter, Rubén Darío to General y Presidente J. S. Zelaya, 1909 February 12 (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 43Letter, Rubén Darío to Nicaraguan Foreign Minister, 1912 December 5 (1 Page; Double-Sided)
Box 1Folder 44Letter, Rubén Darío to Amado Nervo, 1915 January 12 (1 Page; Double-Sided)
Box 1Folder 45Letter, Rubén Darío to Ernesto Bermúdez, Undated (1 Page; Double-Sided)
At the time this letter was written, Bermúdez was the Nicaraguan Consul in Manchester.
Box 1Folder 46Letter, Rubén Darío to Don Crisanto Medina, Undated (1 Page)
At the time this letter was written, Medina was the Nicaraguan Minister in Paris.
Box 1Folder 47Letter, Rubén Darío to Nicaraguan Consul in Manchester, Undated (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 48Letter, Rubén Darío to F. Torralba, Undated (1 Page)
Box 1Folder 49Letter, Rubén Darío to Sr. Presidente J. S. Zelaya, Undated (1 Page; Double-Sided)
Box 2Folder 1Letter, Rubén Darío to Sr. Presidente J. S. Zelaya, Undated (1 Page)
Box 2Folder 2Letter, Rubén Darío to General y Presidente J. S. Zelaya, Undated (1 Page)
Box 2Folder 3Letter, Rubén Darío to Santiago Mataix i Soler, Undated (1 Page)
Series II: Receipts and Bank Records
Box 2Folder 4Receipt for 1,000 Pesetas as advance for first edition of El Canto Errante, 1907 September 12 (1 Page)
Box 2Folder 10Bank Record, Director de Credit Lyonaisse, Madrid, 1908 May 29 (1 Page)
Box 2Folder 14Bank Record, Director de Credit Lyonaisse, Madrid, 1908 July 29 (1 Page)
Box 2Folder 5Receipt to Crisanto Medina from Rubén Darío, 1908 September 28 (1 Page)
Box 2Folder 6Receipt from Rubén Darío to L. H. Debayle, 1908 October 10 (1 Page)
At the time of this receipt, Debayle was the Mexican Consul in France.
Box 2Folder 7Receipt from Rubén Darío to J. M. Vega Limón, 1911 July 7 (1 Page)
At the time of this receipt, Limón was the Mexican Consul in France.
Box 2Folder 8Receipt to Rubén Darío from Alfredo y Armando Guido for work as Director of Mundial Magazine and Elegancia, 1914 January 31 (1 Page)
Series III: Documents in French
Box 2Folder 9Bank Record, Monsieur Lacombe, Madrid, 1908 February 7 (1 Page; Handwritten Letter)
Box 2Folder 11Bank Record, M. M. Mayence & Cie., Paris, 1908 June 14 (1 Page; Handwritten Letter)
Box 2Folder 12Bank Record, Monsieur Directeur Credit Lyonaisse, Madrid, 1908 July 25 (1 Page; Handwritten Letter)
Box 2Folder 13Bank Record, Monsieur Vancopenolle, Madrid, 1908 July 25 (1 Page; Handwritten Letter)
Box 2Folder 15Bank Record, G. Labocq & Cie, Undated (1 Page; Handwritten Letter)
Series IV: Poetry and Creative Works
Box 2Folder 16"El ala del cuervo", 1883 (9 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 2Folder 17"¡Alma Mía!", Undated (Transcripción 3; One Page; Double-Sided)
Box 2Folder 18"A Amado Nervo", Undated (1 Page; Double-Sided)
Box 2Folder 19"Mi tía Rosa", 1913 December 15 (5 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 2Folder 20"La anciana", Undated (Textual; 2 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 2Folder 21"La bella", Undated (Fragmentaria; 1 Page; Double-Sided)
Box 2Folder 22"Cantar a Chinandega", 1908 May (10 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 2Folder 23"Canto a la Argentina", 1910 March 24 (40 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 2Folder 24"Canto a El Salvador", 1883 September 14 (5 Pages; Double-Sided)
Dedicated to President Rafael Zaldívar.
Box 2Folder 25"Cantos Épicos a las Glorias de Chile", 1887 September (38 Pages; Double-Sided; Pages Mis-Numbered)
Manuscrito original para concursar en el certámen de poesía de Varela.
Box 3Folder 1"Canto a León Santiago de los caballeros", 1908 February (8 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 2"Cantos de vida y esparanza", 1904 (5 Pages; Double-Sided)
Dedicated to José Enrique Rodó.
Box 3Folder 3"La cartuja", 1913 Winter (3 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 4"A Castelar", 1911 May 30 (6 Pages; Double-Sided)
Written on Mundial stationary and dedicated to Emilio Castelar Ripoll.
Box 3Folder 5"Caupolicán", 1888 (1 Page; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 6"A Colón", 1908 December (4 Pages; Double-Sided)
Dedicated to Santos Zelaya.
Box 3Folder 7"Coloquio de los centauros", 1886 February 14 (8 Pages; Double-Sided)
Dedicated to Paul Grousac.
Box 3Folder 8"En Barcelona", 1889 January 4 (5 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 9"En Barcelona", 1899 January 4 (9 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 10"Los Encajes", 1898 May (1 Page)
Box 3Folder 11"En el mar", 1899 December 3 (3 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 12"En Madrid", 1899 January 1 (6 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 13"Epístola a la Señora de Leopoldo Lugones", 1906 (10 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 14"Epitalamio Bárbaro", Undated (Transcripción XI; 2 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 15"Fiesta campesina", 1889 November 18 (5 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 16"Fiesta campesina", 1899 November (10 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 17"El fin de Nicaragua", 1912 September 28 (6 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 18"La gran cosmópolis", 1915 (4 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 19"Himno al Libertador Bolívar", Undated (7 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 20"Historia de un sobretodo", circa 1888 (3 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 21"A Jacinto Octavio Picón Bouchet", 1913 January 20 (3 Pages; Double-Sided)
Written on Mundial letterhead.
Box 3Folder 22"Mis Memorias", 1913 December (4 Pages; Double-Sided)
Written on Mundial letterhead and dedicated to José Martí.
Box 3Folder 23"A Juan Ramón Jiménez", Undated (1 Page; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 24"Madrid", 1899 January 1 (8 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 25"Marcha triunfal", 1895 May 4 (4 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 26"A Margarita Debayle", Undated (4 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 27"Libros extraños", Undated (1 Page; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 28"Letanías de nuestro Señor Don Quijote", 1905 April (4 Pages; Double-Sided)
Dedicated to Navarro Ledesma.
Box 3Folder 29"Mariposa y flor", Undated (Transcripción Fiel; 1 Page)
Box 3Folder 30"Memorias", Undated (Part 2; 28 Pages; Double-Sided; Incomplete)
Box 3Folder 31"Mis primeros versos", 1886 January (5 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 32"Momotombo", Undated (5 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 33"Los motivos del lobo", 1913 December (Version I; 8 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 34"Los motivos del lobo", 1913 December (9 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 35"Nicaragua", 1913 January (6 Pages; Double-Sided)
Written for Mundial Magazine.
Box 3Folder 36"Nicaragua", 1913 January (10 Pages; Double-Sided)
Written for La Nacíon, diario.
Box 3Folder 37"Nocturno", Undated (2 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 38"Oda a Libertador Bolívar", 1883 June 24 (25 Pages; Double-Sided)
Dedicated to Rafael Zaldívar, President of El Salvador.
Box 3Folder 39"¡Ah! Recuerdos" a Amado Nervo, 1914 November (1 Page; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 40"El Pánico", 1884 February 14 (1 Page; Not Edited)
Box 3Folder 41"¡Pax!", 1914 December (7 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 42"Poema del Otoño", Undated (4 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 43"Preludio", Undated (5 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 44"A Roosevelt", Undated (2 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 45"A Rosario Murillo", 1912 October (10 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 46"Se que soy", Undated (1 Page)
Box 3Folder 47"Sonatina", 1893 February (3 Pages; Double-Sided)
English
Box 3Folder 48"Sonatina", Buenos Aires, 1893 November 24 (3 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 49"Sonatina", Madrid, 1893 (3 Pages; Double-Sided)
Box 3Folder 50"El triunfo de Caliban", 1898 May 20 (4 Pages; Double-Sided)
Written for Tiempo de Buenos Aires.
Box 3Folder 51"Versos de Otoño", Undated (1 Page)
Box 3Folder 52"A. de Gilbert", 1889 August (25 Pages; Double-Sided)
Written in Sonsonate, El Salvador for Pedro Balmaceda Toro.
Series V: Collection History
Box 3Folder 53Funeral Program for Ingro. Alejandro Bermúdez, 1933 July 22
Box 3Folder 54El Cronista, 1945 January 5
Box 3Folder 55Book Cover, Undated (Removed to Box 4/OV1)
Box 4/OV1 Book Cover, Undated (Removed from Box 3, Folder 55)
Series VI: Restricted Materials
Box 5 Correspondence and Creative Works (Original Copies)