Juan Gelman (3 May 1930 – 14 January 2014) was an Argentine poet. He published more than twenty books of poetry between 1956 and his death in early 2014. In 2007, Gelman was awarded the Cervantes Prize, the most important in Spanish literature. His works celebrate life but are also tempered with social and political commentary and reflect his own painful experiences with the politics of his country.
He was considered one of the greatest authors in Spanish, and was awarded the prestigious Cervantes Prize in 2007. He wrote more than 20 books of poetry which have been translated into 14 languages, as well as regular columns for newspapers.
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His son and his pregnant daughter-in-law died after being abducted by the military government in the 1970s. His tireless search for them made him a symbol in the struggle for human rights. In 2000, he found his granddaughter, born before his daughter-in-law's presumed murder in prison. The child had been handed over to a pro-government family in Uruguay.
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His parents were Jewish Ukrainian immigrants to Argentina.