Elenisima

by Michael K. Schuessler

Construido como un collage el mejor medio para marcar los puntos cardinales de su vida y obra este libro llevara al lector a descubrir a una extraordinaria mujer y escritora, Elena Poniatowska, creadora de una vasta obra que alterna imperceptiblemente el periodismo y la literatura, el testimonio y la novela. Esta edicion actualizada es un caleidoscopio vital compuesto de un variado coro de voces, las de su madre, su nana, sus companeros escritores, criticos literarios, documentos ineditos y la mas la de ella misma. Que es en la literatura nacional Elena Poniatowska? Respondo sin jerarquizar, sin meditarlo demasiado, [] es la mejor, mas intensa cronista de la multiple realidad mexicana Es una institucion del periodismo y de la vida cultural, tanto mas necesaria cuanto mas reconocidas su lucidez y su generosidad. Carlos Monsivais

Genres: Biography

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ordered this book awhile back to learn more about Elena Poniatowska, a woman who has fascinated me since I learned about her a few years ago. Her mother came from a Mexican family that moved to France after losing property in the Mexican revolution. Her father was descended from Polish aristocracy. Technically Elena can call herself a princess, she has the bloodlines for the title. But although she had a very privileged childhood, she never seemed to be the Snooty Princess type.

In the early 1950's, when Elena was nineteen years old, she wanted to study medicine. She had been in school in the United States, but financial setbacks in the family forced the end of her education abroad and she could not take the classes she needed in Mexico. Also, her father denied her the permission to take anatomy classes, saying it was not proper for a young woman. A child of her times, she meekly obeyed, but still wished for a life other than that destined for a woman of her social class: attending balls, cocktail parties, and fashion shows; she wanted to support herself. But how?

She was studying to become an executive secretary when thanks to her mother's social connections she interviewed the United States ambassador to Mexico and sent the interview to the newspaper Excelsior. So began a career that has helped the princess become the woman she is today: a living treasure of the Mexican literary world. She wrote daily columns about everything from the doings of the society set (that Society Page was unavoidable in those days) to interviews with presidential candidates. But she also discovered the other side of her beloved Mexico City: the street people, the lost women, the forgotten men. She not only became a journalist, she became a mature human
being with deep concerns for those people who had none of the advantages in life she had known and taken for granted.

This book talks a great deal about Elena's body of work: all those interviews, her novels, and the three books of hers that she is most known for outside of Mexico. (See note below.) But at times I felt as if something was missing. "Intimate biographies" usually speak more about the subject than this book seemed to do. For example, in the early phase of her career, the author mentions that Elena took her baby son around with her on her interviews. But where did he come from? Well, I know where he came from, but there was no mention of a husband or love affair or anything of the sort. Just that she took her baby with her to work. In later chapters I read how some of her works began to be translated into English in radically shortened versions. This made me wonder and I
looked at the copyright page and sure enough, this book is an English translation of the original by the same author. Who knows how much else has been left out? I need to find the Spanish edition!

I did enjoy the book, though, and I think Elena is a fascinating person. The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way about her was in the chapter which talked about how she met and began to interact with the woman who became the inspiration for Elena's book "Hasta No Verte Jesus mia!" This was a poor woman, struggling to survive day to day and the only free time she had, the only time she could call her own, was two or three hours every Wednesday. Elena promptly commandeered that time, going every Wednesday to listen to the stories Josefina Borquez told of her life. This is the cold-blooded journalist, not the caring woman. And Elena herself admits to that in another part of the book. She says that she learned so much from Josefina, but never gave her anything in return. Not even a penny from the proceeds of the book. This using of another human being made me sad. A journalist might behave this way, but a journalist who is a true princess really should know better. She did become what the author calls a champion for women, for the
underprivileged, for the downtrodden. So perhaps after all Elena did understand.

I have a few of her books in the original Spanish editions but have not yet had a chance to read them. I think now is the time.

Note: The three books written by Poniatowska that are most well-known outside of Mexico are:
Hasta no verte, Jesus mío (English title Here's To You, Jesusa!)
La noche de Tlatelolco (English title Massacre In Mexico)
Nada, Nadie. Las Voces Del Temblor (English title Nothing, Nobody: The Voices Of The Mexico City Earthquake)

Another note: I was torn between three and four stars for my rating, and decided to go with three because of my disappointment over what seems to be missing in this translation.

[Finding Nemo OUL · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is wonderful, I loved it

[Thomas P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Algo académico pero muy interesante libro de Elena Poniatowska que se enfoca mayormente de su trabajo como periodista y de sus obras literarias.