ANTONIO PORCHIA A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
|
Photograph from “Crisis”
Magazine No 37 – Year 1976 |
A wing is neither Heaven
nor Earth.
Antonio Porchia was born in the town of Conflenti, which belongs
to the Province of Calabria in Italy, on the thirteenth day of November
of the year 1885. His father, Francisco Porchia, was married to
Rosa Vescio, with whom he had seven children, three daughters and
four sons; Antonio was the eldest.
When his father died in 1900, Porchia was only 15 years old. Being
the eldest of his siblings, he took the responsibility of looking
after them. His mother decided to emigrate to Argentina, and Porchia
felt a sense of duty and the commitment to find a job in order to
help support his family.
Entry of Birth He arrived in Argentina in 1902 at the age of 17,
and started to work in the Port of Buenos Aires, where he mended
and wove baskets. After several years, more precisely around the
year 1918, together with his brother he bought a small printing
press in the neighborhood of San Telmo, where he did a little of
everything: he was a typographer apprentice, he worked in the guillotine,
cutting and punching cards. The printing business improved around
the year 1925, when it was moved to a bigger place.
Porchia worked there until approximately 1935. In 1936 he moved
to a new house in the neighborhood of Saavedra, in this house he
lodged his nephews and nieces, who had become motherless. They considered
him as a father. Porchia was of an unlimited kindness, he was never
heard speak ill of anybody and he hosted many friends in his house,
some of whom were painters, others were writers.
Porchia was fond of art, he also had a great love for nature, he
liked to keep his garden tidy and he had a weakness for roses.
He was shy and very reserved, according to some of his friends’
comments. He never got married, though he was said to have an affair
with a woman of little reputation. He wanted to rescue her from
that kind of life and give her a better one. Both of them received
life threatens, and even though he was not frightened he broke up
the relationship for the sake of that woman.
The first published “Voices” (“Voces”) appeared
in a small left-wing newspaper called “La Fragua” (“The
Forge”). The first collection of “Voices” appeared
in Buenos Aires in 1943 in an edition that Porchia paid for by himself
and that carried the stamp of Impulse Association. It had a print
run of 1000 copies, almost any of which was sold. His first and
only published book increased every new edition with some new “Voices”.
The work of Porchia is totally composed of brief aphorisms, moral
or philosophical maxims, many of which are of a high poetic hierarchy.
In 1947 the French reviewer Roger Callois published some Voices
in the French magazine “La Licorne”. In 1949 he translated
and published the book “Voix” G L M Editions-Paris in
its full version. Callois was surprised by the depth of “Voices”.
This edition obtained a warm welcome and was an immediate success;
famous people as André Breton and Henry Miller considered
Porchia as one of the greatest poets of the present time. Roger
Callois felt motivated to meet Porchia, and describing his first
impression, he said: “I was with a man about 50 years old,
of a respectful aspect, simple and shy. He didn’t seem scholastic
or was dressed in a polished way. He gave the impression of being
before a humble man of the working class”.
Callois suspected that Porchia was influenced by Buddist writings
or maybe by Kafka; but when asked about this, Porchia answered that
never in his life had he heard anything of them. He only said that
his “Voices” flowed spontaneously and that they represented
different moments and experiences of his life, he simply wrote them
down.
The “Voices” translated by Callois in 1949 were nominated
in France for the award of the French Book Club, but finally this
honor didn’t become definite since the depth and complexity
of the “Voices” didn’t make them popular. After
this international acknowledgement , the local media started to
take him into consideration. His “Voices” began to be
published in national magazines such as “Sur” (South)
and newspapers such as La Nación, Clarín, La Prensa,
etc.
Porchia also had a brief participation in the closing of a municipal
radio program at midnight, in which he read his “Voices”.
There appeared a record called “Antonio Porchia by himself”.
His only well known book was also translated and published in several
languages. In the United States, it was translated and published
by the young poet William S. Merwin in 1969. Mr. Merwin selected
approximately 250 “Voices” from almost 600 published
in several editions in Spanish. His book was also published in French,
German and Italian.
|
Porchia with Mary in
the swimming pool of the country house. |
Porchia celebrated his 81st birthday surrounded by the love of
great friends at the García Orozcos’ country house.
Porchia was frequently invited to this country house on weekends.
Precisely in this place, Porchia almost encountered death when he
slipped from a ladder while pruning a tree. The strong hit on his
head caused him a blood clot that left him in a comma. He was operated,
and fortunately he recovered fairly well. Afterwards, he traveled
to the City of Mar del Plata to spend some days with the Garcia
Orozcos.
|
Porchia and Mary Souto
de Garcia Orozco in Mar del Plata. |
Finally, Porchia died in a clinic in the neighborhood of Vicente
López in the afternoon, on Saturday, November 9th, 1968,
when he was about to turn 83 years old.
It was always easier to love than
to praise.
Photo Carlos Miller
|
