Amelia Solar de Claro (October 11, 1836 – November 21, 1915) was a Chilean poet, playwright, and writer of essays.

Biography

Maria Amelia de las Mercedes Solar was the daughter of José María del Solar Marín and Mercedes Marín del Solar, who was the first Chilean poet and thinker.

She married José Luis Claro y Cruz, a leader and one of the founders of the Cuerpo de Bomberos de Santiago. Together, they had four children, including Luis Claro Solar, a lawyer, and Raúl Claro Solar, a member of the legislature.

She is known for writing and publishing one of the first dramatic works in Chilean children's literature: María Cenicienta: comedia en 3 actos i en verso (María Cinderella: comedy in 3 acts and verse), a humorous play performed in Valparaíso in 1884. She also worked with other writers, such as Delfina María Hidalgo and Quiteria Varas Marín, to publish some of the earliest texts written by Chilean women in the late 1800s.

Selected works

• Haroldo: a story from the 1500s, translated from French (Santiago: Victoria Printing Press, 1887). (text)
• María Cenicienta: a play in three acts written in verse (Santiago: Establecimiento Poligráfico Roma, 1898; Imprint and Libr. Excelsior, 1917). (text)
• Recuerdos (Santiago: University Press, 1914). (text)
• Poems by Mrs. Amelia Solar de Claro (Santiago: Imprint and Binding by Antigua Inglesa, 1916). (text)