Muna Lee (writer)

Muna Lee
Born	January 29, 1895(1895-01-29) Raymond, Mississippi, United States
Died	April 3, 1965(1965-04-03) (aged 70) San Juan, Puerto Rico
Occupation	Poet, Author
Genres	Pan-Americanism, Feminism, Detective fiction
Spouse(s)	Luis Muñoz Marín

This article is about the Puerto Rico-based writer. For the American athlete, see Muna Lee (athlete).

Muna Lee (January 29, 1895 – April 3, 1965) was an American author and poet who became widely known for her writings that promoted Pan-Americanism and Feminism.

Born in Raymond, Mississippi, Lee began her writing career as a well-known lyric poet. As a translator and advocate of Latin American literature, she made major contributions to the modern Pan-American literary tradition.

As a feminist leader, Muna Lee made important contributions to the modern women's movement, in particular the struggle for equal rights. She was a founder of the Inter-American Commission of Women. It was in New York City that she met her future husband, a Puerto Rican poet and journalist by the name of Luis Muñoz Marín, who later would become the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico. They were married on July 1, 1919 and during their union they had two children: daughter Muna Muñoz Lee (known as Munita) and son Luis Muñoz Lee. They were officially divorced on November 15, 1946, two years before Muñoz Marín would make history when he was elected governor. Had they remained married, Lee would have become the island's first lady.

From 1934 to 1938, Lee wrote five detective novels under the pen name Newton Gayle (co-authored with Maurice Guinness). They were well received at the time, particularly for their use of bilingual dialogue, and have been translated in French and Italian.

In 1941, she joined the U.S. State Department as an inter-American cultural affairs specialist. She died of lung cancer on April 3, 1965 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She was laid to rest in Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery in Old San Juan.

See also

	Puerto Rico portal
	Biography portal
	Literature portal

• List of Puerto Rican writers
• List of Famous Puerto Ricans
• Puerto Rican literature

External links

• (English) Biography on Stony Brook University website
• (English) Article from the University of Mississippi Press
• (English) Muna Lee's Grave as it appears on the Find A Grave website

Persondata
Name	Lee, Muna
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 29, 1895
Place of birth	Raymond, Mississippi, United States
Date of death	April 3, 1965
Place of death	San Juan, Puerto Rico