Gabriel Zaid

Gabriel Zaid is a Mexican writer, poet and intellectual.

He was born in the city of Monterrey, Nuevo León, in 1934. He studied Engineering at the Tecnológico de Monterrey.

He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Vuelta magazine from 1976 to 1992. He has been a member of El Colegio Nacional since September 26, 1984. He has been a member of the Mexican Academy of Language since 1986. He has distinguished himself for never appearing in public—not even his picture has been taken. This springs from a strongly held opinion that a writer should be known by his work, not his real life personality. His essays have been very influential on a vast array of topics, most significantly poetry, economics, and criticism of the literary establishment.

• Fábula de Narciso y Ariadna (Fable of Narciso and Ariadna) (1958);
• Seguimiento (Following) (1964);
• Campo nudista (Nudist Camp) (1969);
• Lina (1972);
• Práctica mortal (Deadly Practice) (1973);
• Cuestionario (Questionnaire) (1976);
• Canciones de Vidyapati (Songs of Vidyapati) (1978);
• Sonetos y canciones (Sonnets and Songs) (1992);
• Reloj de sol (Sun Clock) (1995).

Essays on poetry

• La poesía, fundamento de la ciudad (Poetry, Foundation of the City) (1963);
• La máquina de cantar (The Singing Machine) (1967);
• Leer poesía (Reading Poetry) (1972 Xavier Villarrutia Award);
• La poesía en la práctica (Poetry in Practice) (1985 Magda Donato Award);
• Un amor imposible de López Velarde (An Impossible Love of López Velarde) (1986);
• Muerte y resurrección de la cultura católica (Death and Resurrection of Catholic Culture) (1992);
• Ensayos sobre poesía (Essays on Poetry) (1993);
• Tres poetas católicos (Three Catholic Poets) (1997).

Poetry Anthologies

• Ómnibus de poesía mexicana (Omnibus of Mexican Poems) (1971);
• Asamblea de poetas jóvenes de México (Assembly of Young Mexican Poets) (1980);
• Antología poética de Manuel M. Ponce (Poem Anthology of Manuel M. Ponce) (1980).

Criticism about the Cultural World

• Cómo leer en bicicleta (How to Read on a Bicycle) (1975);
• Problemas de una cultura matriotera (Problems of a Mother-Idolizing Culture) (1982);
• Imprenta y vida pública de Daniel Cosío Villegas (Printing House and Public Life of Daniel Cosío Villegas) (1985);
• ¿Adivinos o libreros? (Fortune Tellers or Book Store Owners) (1986);
• De los libros al poder (From Books to Power) (1988);
• Legítima defensa de la exención autoral que hacen numerosos autores mexicanos con buenas razones y ejemplos desde los tiempos prehispánicos (Legitimate Defense of the Author Exemption made by several Mexican Authors with Good Reasons and Examples since Pre-Hispanic Times) (1993).
• Los demasiados libros (So Many Books) (1996); English translation 2003 (Paul Dry Books, Philadelphia).

Social criticism

• El progreso improductivo (The Improductive Progress) (1979);
• La feria del progreso (The Progress Fair) (1982);
• La economía presidencial (The Presidential Economy) (1987);
• La nueva economía presidencial (The New Presidential Economy) (1994);
• Hacen falta empresarios creadores de empresarios (There's a Need of Entrepreneur-creating Entrepreneurs) (1995);
• Adiós al PRI (Farewell to the PRI) (1995).