Marigloria Palma

Gloria María Pagán y Ferrer, known by the pen name Marigloria Palma, was a Puerto Rican poet, playwright, folklorist, and visual artist. She was born in Canóvanas, Puerto Rico, September 6, 1915. In 1942, she published her first book of poetry, Agua Suelta (Biblioteca de autores puertorriqueños), winner of the 1943 Institute of Puerto Rican Culture Literature prize.

Palma published more than 14 books in her lifetime. Her notable works include San Juan Entre Dos Azules, approximately translated as Saint John Between Two Blues, (Ediciones Rumbos, 1965); La Razón del Cuadrante, approximately translated as The Quadrant Reason (Ediciones Rumbos, 1968); Amy Kootsky (Edil, Río Piedras, 1973); Viento Salado, approximately translated as Salt Wind (Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1981); La Noche y Otras Flores Eléctricos, approximately translated as The Night and Other Electric Flowers (Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1976); and El Señor Don Güi-Güí y Otros Cuentos, approximately translated as Mr. Don Güi-Güí and Other Stories (Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1979). Her autobiography, Bolitas de Mármol: Autobiografía Rimada, approximately translated as Marble Balls: Rhymed Autobiography (Instituto Cultura Puertorriqueño, 1989, is a rhymed poem in 111 stanzas.

In 1944, Palma relocated to the United States and worked at the Pueblos Hispanos newspaper in New York City. Two years later, she married Austrian philosopher Alfred Stern. The couple lived in Pasadena, California, for more than 20 years during Stern's tenure as a professor at CalTech. Palma and Stern returned to Puerto Rico in the 1960s and resided in Old San Juan. Their home in Old San Juan is now an historical landmark on Calle de la Luna.