multibeautiful

The last laureate of this week, Chilean poet, diplomat and feminist, Gabriela Mistral, was the first Latin American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1945. Born into poverty, she won recognition for her published poetry while working as a teacher’s aide. As she gained stature, her position in the Chilean education system became more influential and she was able to champion reforms to expand access to those not from the privileged classes. She traveled widely and guarded her personal life closely. She died of pancreatic cancer in 1957.

( Gabriela Mistral on beauty in art (translated into English) )



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And in breaking news, what a wonderful way to round off the week: The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to three women of colour. The winners are Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee of Liberia and Tawakul Karman of Yemen for 'their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work'. Live text-based coverage from the Guardian can be viewed here.