The Far East in the work of Octavio Paz: philosophy, eroticism and transcendence

Abstract

In the tradition of Latin American poets who incorporated Eastern thought into their work, Octavio Paz occupies a central place. His approach was not limited to experimenting with aesthetic resources in the poetic realm; he also constructed a critical apparatus that allowed writers and scholars to trace the traces he left behind through poetry and literary reflection. Although before him figures such as Rubén Darío, Julián del Casal, José Martí, José Juan Tablada, and Enrique Gómez Carrillo had already paved the way for the Far East, Paz's role is decisive and marks a turning point: in his work, the East ceases to be an exotic space to become a place of encounter and recognition, a horizon of quests that poets after the Nobel Prize would take up and deepen.