Those collections plus
The Labyrinth of Solitude placed Paz in the forefront of Mexican literature by the close of the 1950s, yet he failed to gain an international reputation until his work was translated into English in the 1960s and 1970s. For another four decades Paz continued to deepen his thought and expression in poetry and essays which continued to examine philosophical, moral, religious, historical, political, and artistic themes.
Paz, who died in 1998 at the age of eighty-four, wore many hats during his lifetime. Not only was he a leading writer, but also a translator, editor, playwright, and major intellectual voice on the Mexican and world stage. A tireless defender of democracy and the freedom of expression, Paz viewed language as a central concern and characterized the role of the writer as a guardian of language. Additionally, for almost two decades he was in the Mexican diplomatic corps, beginning in France in the 1940s as cultural attaché. In 1962 Paz was made Mexico's ambassador to India, a post which he resigned in 1968 following a government massacre of student protestors in Mexico City.
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