Claribel Alegría and Central American Literature
Critical Essays

“…Even the casual reader interested in contemporary Central American life and culture is certain to acquire a better understanding of its literature and recent developments. It is to the editors’ credit that all the Spanish material is translated into English, making a wealth of information and timely experiences available to English–speakers.”

Evelyn Urhan Irving, Tennessee Technological University, World Literature Today

These essays examine the multifaceted work of the Central American author whom Latin American literary historians consider precursor of “cultural dialogism” in poetry and fiction. As poet, essayist, journalist, novelist, and writer of “quasi–testimonio,” Alegría’s multiple discourses transgress the boundaries between traditional and postmodern political theories and practices. Her work reveals an allegory of relation and negotiation between “intelligentsia” and subaltern peoples as well as the need for a more socially extensive literature, not exclusive of more elite “magical literatures.”

The essays in the fist section frame Alegría’s discourses within sociohistorical, political, and literary contexts in order to illuminate the author’s singular place in the literary and political history of Central America. The essays in the second section engage in a feminist dialogic in which the reader encounters various critical validations and valorizations of Alegría’s many female voices. The third section involves the reader in the pursuit of extratextual or extraliterary resonances in Alegría’s work.

Sandra M. Boschetto-Sandoval is an associate professor of Spanish at Michigan Technological University.   More info →

Marcia Phillips McGowan teaches English and is Director of Women’s Studies at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Connecticut.   More info →