Gioconda Belli

Gioconda Belli (1948, Nicaragua/Spain) is a renowned poet and writer. Her works, translated into more than 20 languages, include poetry, novels, and essays. She has received numerous awards, including being the first woman to receive the Latin American Prize in 2010 for her novel El País de las Mujeres, the Hermann Kesten Award (2018) for her defense of press freedom, the Reina Sofía Poetry Award (2023), and in 2018 she was a finalist for the III Maria Vargas Llosa Prize for her novel Las Fiebres de la Memoria (Fevers of Memory). Due to her politically charged writing and criticism of Daniel Ortega's government, she had her citizenship revoked; she currently lives in exile in Madrid. In Slovenia, she is already known for the collection Medeni škandal, translated by Sara Virk.

As critics often say, one of the many qualities of Gioconda’s poetic work is undoubtedly that it truly gives us a "female voice," showing the "birth of poetry" created by women. It is not about a classical feminist discourse, but rather an authentic political, social, and cultural voice of female poets. This is not a voice that has been shaped and buried in the poetic tradition of men, who for centuries determined and predetermined what is poetic and what poetry should be. It is an expressive form that is reinvented through the creation of a fresh and genuine female voice. This voice speaks as things truly emerge – not as they might wish to be heard (by men) – and thus, Gioconda Belli represents the beginning, the starting point, and the shore of poetry created by women. Just as on every shore, the sand mixes and returns to the sea, deep below the surface – to where the true creative power resides, which shines in the excellent translation by Sara Virk.

The poet's guest appereance is supported by Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) and the Embassy of Spain in Ljubljana.