Lydda Franco Farías y sus Poemas circunstanciales: aproximación histórica a una polémica literaria en la Coro de 1965

Abstract

Lydda Franco Farias (1943-2004) is regarded as a prominent figure of the Venezuelan poetry during the 1960's. She wrote lyrics with a profoundly feminist and rebellious feeling and style, and her name is included in the most important literary lists of the country next to other poets of the sixties. This article deals with the controversy developed in the regional press of Falcon State related to Coro's Athenaeum Literary Prize of 1965. By publishing one of Lydda Franco's poems, a public debate emerged both regionally and nationally in relation to its aesthetic values. This turned the author into a reference of values of that epoch associated with rebellious stances. This controversy ended up generating a false narrative about her expelling from the city of Coro, a tale that has been repeated many times in literary circles to the point it is considered real. Here we intend to observe the facts and distinguish the main arguments appeared in the regional newspapers in order to approach to Lydda Franco's proposals and their perception among the men of letters of that time.