Henriette Morvan | |
---|---|
Born | Enriqueta Peptitpas Cotton 1900 Santiago, Chile |
Other names | Damita Duende |
Occupation(s) | Journalist, writer, editor |
Children |
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Enriqueta Peptitpas Cotton (born 1900;[2][3] year of death unknown), better known as Henriette Morvan or Damita Duende, was a Chilean journalist, writer, and editor.[4] Associated with the genres of children's and young adult literature, she wrote and compiled related stories.[5][6][7]
Beginning in the 1930s, children's literature became prominent in Chile.[8] In this context, Henriette Morvan established herself as one of the leaders of the genre, with publications such as Doce cuentos de príncipes y reyes and Doce cuentos de hadas, both from 1938.[9] She was linked to other authors of the time, such as Ernesto Montenegro with his 1930 work Cuentos de mi Tío Ventura,[9] Blanca Santa Cruz Ossa with her compilations of myths and legends (beginning in 1929), and Marta Brunet with Cuentos para Marisol (also published in 1938).[8]
Together with Blanca Santa Cruz Ossa and her sister Elvira, Morvan was one of the main collectors and disseminators of children's literature in Chile in the late 1930s and 1940s.[7][10] In addition, her work is included in a group of authors "whose main concern was to educate by more didactic methods," among whom was Ester Cosani.[8] In the late 1930s she began a series of contributions to the magazine Zig-Zag as part of a collection titled "Damita Duente" – her pseudonym from then on – which included a compilation of legends and fables.[7]
She edited several magazines, such as Campeón (1937) and El Cabrito (1945).[11] In addition, she wrote for various publications in the United States, Mexico, and Cuba.[3]