In Her Words: Critical Studies on Gloria Fuertes

by Margaret H. Persin, Jasmina Arsova (Contribution by), Mark Bajus (Contribution by), Catherine G. Bellver (Contribution by), Douglas K. Benson (Contribution by)

Overview

During her lifetime, Gloria Fuertes achieved the status of a controversial cultural icon, both through her poetry for adults and through her poetry, recorded readings, and television programs for juveniles. This collection of lively essays, by authors who specialize in contemporary Spanish poetry, approaches the works of Gloria Fuertes from various theoretical and critical perspectives. In Her Words speaks to the inherent complexity of Gloria Fuertes' poetry, as manifested in its ultimate indeterminacy and indecision, yet attests to this poet's abiding value as the voice of the marginalized-women, the poor, children, all the invisible members of society-who were silenced during the years of Spanish dictatorship under Franco.

This book manifests the prescience of Fuertes' stands on a variety of social and cultural issues, from women's changing roles in society, gender and sexuality, identity within a society held captive by a dictatorial regime, to more universal themes such as love, justice, ethics, nature, and obsolete societal norms. In Her Words decisively addresses and ultimately rejects the Spanish cultural elite's inclination to disavow Fuertes' influence and reveals how her voice has shaped succeeding generations of Spanish poets and underscored the ubiquity of her verse in contemporary Spanish literature and culture. The subtlety and diversity of the essays included in this volume attest to the power of Gloria Fuertes' poetic creativity, her ability to appeal to a wide audience both in Spain and abroad, and her place in the contemporary Spanish poetic canon.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611480146
Publisher:	University Press Copublishing Division
Publication date:	04/29/2011
Pages:	485
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Margaret H. Persin is professor of Hispanic literature and culture at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 7

Prologue Margaret H. Persin 11

Part I Identity

Portraits of the Poet in the Poetry of Gloria Fuertes Catherine G. Bellver 21

Gloria et al. Brenda Cappuccio 40

Gloria Fuertes: Self-Portraits of a Fertile Spinster Jasmina Arsova 52

Lesbian Identity: (Dis)appearing Act in Gloria Fuertes's Poetry Elena Castro Carys Evans-Corrales 82

Gerontological Poetics in Gloria Fuertes's Posthumous Es dificil ser feliz una tarde John C. Wilcox 100

Part II Discourse

Hearing Voices: Transtextuality and Heteroglossia in Gloria Fuertes's Mujer de verso en pecho Douglas K. Benson 121

Community and the Privileging of Sound in the Poetry of Gloria Fuertes Sharon Keefe Ugalde 138

Poetic Forms and Ideology in the Poetry of Gloria Fuertes Reyes Vila-Belda Carys Evans-Corrales 166

Gloria Fuertes's Counterhegemonic Dialogism: A Response to El Nacionalcatolicismo Martha LaFollette Miller 185

Gloria Fuertes's Vietnam War Poems: Revising the Elegiac Tradition Mark Bajus 207

Transcending Boundaries: Gloria Fuertes's Poetry for Children and/or Adults Mary Makris 221

Toward an Ecofeminist Dialogics in the Poetry of Gloria Fuertes Margaret H. Persin 242

Reflections on Gloria Fuertes: Ethics and Community Salvador J. Fajardo 271

Gloria Fuertes: Select Bibliography 290

Works Cited 299

Notes on Contributors 314

Index 318