Poet. Her turbulent, erotically-charged poems were motivated by resentment against a male world that left no role, other than submission, for women of talent; they reveal a profound yearning for love mixed with feelings of disillusionment and disgust. Her famous poem "You Want Me White" attacks the hypocrisy of men who insist on marrying only virgins while disregarding their own sexual histories. Storni's poetry collections include "Sweet Pain" (1918), "Irremediably" (1919), "Languor" (1920), "Okra" (1925), and "Love Poems" (1926). Storni was born in Capriasca, Switzerland, to Italian-Swiss parents, and moved with them to San Juan, Argentina, when she was four. She settled in Buenos Aires at 19, after an affair with a married politician resulted in the birth of an illegitimate son. Her first book of poems, "The Disquiet of the Rosebush", appeared in 1916. Hailed as one of the finest Argentine poets of her generation, Storni lectured widely and taught at the National Conservatory in Buenos Aires. Her haunting final book, "Death Mask and Clover" (1938), was inspired by her long struggle with breast cancer. After learning that her disease had become inoperable, Storni drowned herself in the ocean off Mar del Plata. Four years later a memorial to Storni was erected near the spot where her body washed ashore. It is inscribed with her 1925 poem "Pain", which seemed to foreshadow her death: "I want one day in late October/ To walk the border of the sea....It is nothing but forgetfulness for me".
Poet. Her turbulent, erotically-charged poems were motivated by resentment against a male world that left no role, other than submission, for women of talent; they reveal a profound yearning for love mixed with feelings of disillusionment and disgust. Her famous poem "You Want Me White" attacks the hypocrisy of men who insist on marrying only virgins while disregarding their own sexual histories. Storni's poetry collections include "Sweet Pain" (1918), "Irremediably" (1919), "Languor" (1920), "Okra" (1925), and "Love Poems" (1926). Storni was born in Capriasca, Switzerland, to Italian-Swiss parents, and moved with them to San Juan, Argentina, when she was four. She settled in Buenos Aires at 19, after an affair with a married politician resulted in the birth of an illegitimate son. Her first book of poems, "The Disquiet of the Rosebush", appeared in 1916. Hailed as one of the finest Argentine poets of her generation, Storni lectured widely and taught at the National Conservatory in Buenos Aires. Her haunting final book, "Death Mask and Clover" (1938), was inspired by her long struggle with breast cancer. After learning that her disease had become inoperable, Storni drowned herself in the ocean off Mar del Plata. Four years later a memorial to Storni was erected near the spot where her body washed ashore. It is inscribed with her 1925 poem "Pain", which seemed to foreshadow her death: "I want one day in late October/ To walk the border of the sea....It is nothing but forgetfulness for me".
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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