María del Carmen Millán

María del Carmen Millán (1914–1982) was a Mexican academic, writer and lecturer who became the first woman admitted to the Mexican Academy of Letters. Her work to preserve the literary heritage of Mexico was recognized both internationally and nationally.

María del Carmen Millán
Born	María del Carmen Francisca Millán Acevedo 3 December 1914 Teziutlán, Puebla, Mexico
Died	1 September 1982 (aged 67) Mexico City, Mexico
Nationality	Mexican
Occupation	academic, writer
Years active	1941–1982
Known for	first woman admitted to the Mexican Academy of Letters

Early life

María del Carmen Francisca Millán Acevedo was born on 3 December 1914 in Teziutlán, Puebla, Mexico[1] to María Acevedo Hernández and Pompello Millán Vargas.[2] She was the eldest of six siblings and her father was a merchant in Teziutlán, where she was raised. She attended primary school at Cantú College before moving to Mexico City in 1937 to attend the National Preparatory School at the San Ildefonso College.[1] In 1940, she entered the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)'s department of Philosophy and Letters and the following year, began contributing to the journal Tierra Nueva (New Earth).[2] She then began contributing to the Revista Rueca (Rueca Magazine) and by the publication of the second edition, had joined the editorial staff made up of Ernestina de Champourcín, Pina Juárez Frausto, María Ramona Rey, Emma Saro and Carmen Toscano.[1]

Career

Completing her undergraduate studies, Millán began teaching Spanish, as well as the literature of Mexico and Spain in the school system of Mexico City.[3] Continuing her education, she earned her master's degree in literature, graduating Magna Cum Laude, from UNAM in 1952, with a thesis entitled "El paisaje en la poesía mexicana" ("The Landscape of Mexican Poetry").[1][4] In 1953 and 1954, Millán was selected as a delegate to the Ibero-American Literature Congresses held in Mexico City and in Berkeley, California.[2] In 1954, she was hired as a full professor in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at UNAM, also serving as the department secretary and director of the Center for Literary Studies. In addition, she directed the summer school program for the university.[3]

In 1962, a decade after her master's work, Millán completed her PhD in literature. Her doctoral thesis, "Literatura Mexicana" ("Mexican Literature"), published by Sphinx Publishing House, has become a seminal work as a reference on Mexican literature. That same year, she was awarded the Ordre des Palmes Académiques from the French government[2][4] and in 1963 was awarded the Order of the Yugoslav Flag with a gold crown.[5] In 1965, she became a traveling lecturer, speaking at German universities in Berlin, Bonn, Cologne, Hamburg, and Heidelberg.[1] In 1967, Millán coordinated, prepared the prologue for and published the Diccionario de Escritores Mexicanos (Dictionary of Mexican Writers), written Aurora M. Ocampo and Ernesto Prado Velázquez.[2] The publication resulted in her recognition by Teziutlán as an "illustrious daughter of Mexico".[5]

In 1970 Millán was appointed as the Director of Audiovisual Education and Publication for the Mexican Secretariat of Public Education (Spanish: Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP))[4] In that capacity, she led the organization to produce a collection of works known as Sep-setentas, which gathered the writings of noted Latin American scholars between 1971 and 1976. The goal was to publish works of the best authors in the region, at affordable prices, to make them available to the public at large. The venture successfully published 315 books. She worked with other writers to produce an anthology in two volumes of the works of the poet Ramón López Velarde, on the fiftieth anniversary of his death, in 1971. She also created a study on the dramatic works of Manuel Eduardo de Gorostiza, which remained unpublished.[3]

In 1973, Millán became the manager of both the General Directorate for Publication and Radio Education divisions of SEP.[1][2] She was elected to the Mexican Academy of letters in 1974 and formally joined the organization in 1975,[3] when she was also selected as Mexico's "Woman of the Year".[2] When she accepted the twelfth chair, Millán was recognized as the first woman admitted to the academy.[3] Continuing to work as manager of the two divisions of SEP until 1976,[1][2] Millán also prepared an anthology of stories, Antología de cuentos mexicanos which was published in three volumes that same year.[3] She then became the first woman appointed as the Director General of the Mexican Radio Corporation and Television Channel 13.[6]

In 1981, she became the vice president of the Mexican American Institute Of Cultural Relations of Mexico City[5] and that same year was made a permanent secretary of the Mexican Academy.[3]

Death and legacy

Millán died on 1 September 1982 in Mexico City and a memorial to mark her passing was held by UNAM.[7] An expanded version of her work on the Diccionario de Escritores Mexicanos began publication in 1988.[8] Luis Mario Schneider compiled the primary works of Millán and published them in two volumes in Puebla in 1992.[3]

References

Citations

1. El Siglo de Torreón 2013.
2. SDP Noticias 2011.
3. Martínez 2015.
4. García-Gutiérrez 1993, p. 13.
5. García-Gutiérrez 1993, p. 14.
6. García-Gutiérrez 1993, pp. 13-14.
7. Cárdenas de la Peña 2010, p. 101.
8. Enciclopedia de la Literatura en México 2016.

Bibliography

• Cárdenas de la Peña, Enrique (2010). Historia de la Academia Mexicana de la Lengua (1946–2000) (in Spanish). III. Distrito Federal, México: Fondo de Cultura Economica. ISBN 978-607-16-1221-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• García-Gutiérrez, Georgina (August 1993). "Mujeres de letras en el mundo" [Women of letters in the world] (PDF). Revista de la Universidad de México (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: National Autonomous University of Mexico: 12–17. ISSN 0185-1330. Retrieved 1 January 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Martínez, José Luis (2015). "María del Carmen Millán". Academia Mexicana de la Lengua (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. Archived from the original on 30 April 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "1982: Muere María del Carmen Millán, la primera mujer miembro de la Academia Mexicana de la Lengua" [1982: María del Carmen Millán dies, the first woman member of the Mexican Academy of Language]. El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico. 1 September 2013. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
• "María del Carmen Millán". Enciclopedia de la Literatura en México (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: Secretaría de Cultura de México. 27 May 2016. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
• "Reunió María del Carmen Millán los más importantes cuentos mexicanos" [María de el Carmen Millán gathered the most important Mexican stories] (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: SDP Noticias. Notimex. 31 August 2011. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.