She was born to an educated, middle-class family where music and literature were always present. Her father, Leandro Vilariño, was a poet whose works were not published in his lifetime. Just like her siblings, :es:Numen Vilariño|Numen, Poema, Azul, and Alma, she studied music. Her mother was very well educated in European literature. She was a professor of literature and secondary education from 1952 until The Coup of 1973. After the restoration of the democratic system, she returned to education, working as a professor in the department of Uruguayan and Latin-American literature in the :es:Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación |College of Education of Humanities and Sciences of :es:Universidad de la República|The University of the Republic. She started writing at a very young age, and her first mature poems were written between 17 and 21 years old. Her first poetic work, La suplicante, was published in 1945. In the subsequent years, she would become recognized internationally and awarded with various awards. Her poems were marked by an intimate experience, intense and distressing, but always very coherent. Idea was included in the group of writers known as the Generación del 45 who became prominent between 1945 and 1950. Among the Generación del 45 the following authors can be found: Juan Carlos Onetti, with whom she had a love affair, Mario Benedetti, Sarandy Cabrera, Carlos Martínez Moreno, Ángel Rama, Carlos Real de Azúa, Carlos Maggi, Alfredo Gravina, Mario Arregui, Amanda Berenguer, Humberto Megget, Emir Rodríguez Monegal, Gladys Castelvecchi, José Pedro Díaz, and others. for the occasion of the visit of Juan Ramón Jiménez. From left to right: María Zulema Silva Vila, Manuel Arturo Claps, Carlos Maggi, María Inés Silva Vila, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Idea Vilariño, Emir Rodríguez Monegal, Ángel Rama. Sitting: José Pedro Díaz, Amanda Berenguer, Zenobia Camprubí, Ida Vitale, Elda Lago, and Manuel Flores Mora. She participated in numerous literary ventures. She was one of the founders of the journals, and, between 1945-1955 ; and she collaborated on other publications, such as :es:Marcha |Marcha, La Opinión,Brecha, Asir, and Texto crítico. Her translations also have been the object of recognition, with some of them, such as the more recognized works of Shakespeare, being performed in the theaters of Montevideo. In 1997, she was interviewed by Rosario Peyrou and, from which the documentary Idea arose. The documentary was directed by Mario Jacob and premiered in May 1998. Her work has been translated to various languages, including Italian, German, and Portuguese. As a composer, four emblematic songs can be mentioned that are pertinent to popular Uruguayan music: A una paloma, La canción y el poema, Los orientales, and Ya me voy pa' la guerrilla. In 2004, she received the Premio Konex MERCOSUR a las Letras, granted by the Konex Foundation, as the most influential writer of the region. Later, she had to undergo surgery that left her with an intestinal and arterialocclusion. She did not recover, and died in Montevideo on 28 April 2009.
