Oliver, María Rosa, 1898-1977

María Rosa Oliver was an Argentine essayist, short story writer and translator. Though she was physically handicapped, Oliver traveled widely in Latin America and Europe, lived and worked in Washington, D.C., from 1942-1946, and visited China, the Soviet Union, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and other countries. She also wrote memoirs, and literary and film criticism in Spanish and English for newspapers and magazines in Latin America, the United States, and Europe, and was a member of the "Comité de Colaboración" of SUR, the Argentine literary magazine, from the magazine's inception in 1931. She was a friend and colleague of Victoria Ocampo, the founder of SUR, Eduardo Mallea, literary editor and critic of LA NACÍON (Buenos Aires, Argentina), and Waldo Frank, the American novelist and critic who was a popular figure in Argentina for his book AMERICA HISPANA and other writings.

In addition to her literary work, Oliver actively worked for an international peace organization, the World Peace Council ("Consejo Mundial de la Paz"). This peace organization was formed after the convocation of several peace congresses in Europe: a congress held in Wroclaw, Poland in 1948, and congresses held in Paris, France and Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1949. Oliver was active in the Council for 14 years (1949-1962) and served as an advisor and vice president.