María Luisa Carnelli and the double margin

Abstract

María Luisa Carnelli (La Plata, 1898 - Buenos Aires, 1987) was an Argentine writer, journalist, tango lyricist and chronicler of the Spanish Civil War. Despite her prolific literary work –with the books Versos de mujer (1923), Rama frágil (1925), Poemas para la ventana del pobre (1928), ¡Quiero trabajo! (1933), U.H.P. Mineros de Asturias (1936) and De la llama al incendio (1967)– is rarely remembered. Even her most famous tango lyrics –such as “Cuando llora la milonga”, “Se va la vida” or “Pa'l cambalache”– have spread independently of their authorship, without her name being mentioned. In order to rectify this omission, this article aims to explore the figure of María Luisa Carnelli from two angles. First, I will analyse her position in the Argentine intellectual field and trace her literary biography through her correspondence and the press of the time. Secondly, by analysing the critical reception of her work from the time of its publication to the present day, I will postulate that the marginal position in which Carnelli finds herself today is not natural, but rather the result of specific strategies. Specific critical techniques that have delegitimised her work and gradually built up her marginal position.