The writer Gioconda Belli, winner yesterday Monday of the XXXII Reina Sofía Prize for Ibero-American Poetry, dedicated the award to Nicaragua, her country, and highlighted that poetry is one of the backbones of her life: “When I discovered her, I discovered who she was, I found my voice.”
In statements, he stressed his enormous joy and indicated that he could not be happier.
“Poetry is extremely important for Humanity since the beginning of time,” said the author, who assured that Nicaragua has great roots “based on poetry” despite “so much war, so much blood and so much struggle.”
great national hero
Rubén Darío is “our great national hero,” said the poet, who declared herself “a defiant victim” of the government of President Daniel Ortega.
Although the authorities of her country stripped her of her nationality, she insisted that she will continue to be Nicaraguan.
The author also expressed her joy for the award on Twitter, where she celebrated that her work enriches the poetic tradition of Nicaragua.
“I dedicate it to my Nicaragua, mother of my inspiration, suffering country of my hope. Long live poetry!!!”, he wrote.
The public entities National Heritage of Spain and the University of Salamanca award this prize annually, the most important for poetry in Spanish and Portuguese.
work of an author
They thus recognize the whole of the work of a living author who, due to its literary value, constitutes a relevant contribution to the common cultural heritage of Ibero-America.
Belli is one of the most recognized Central American writers.
He published his first poems in 1970, in the cultural weekly La Prensa. Two years later, his book “Sobre la grama” earned him the Mariano Fiallos Gil Poetry Prize from the Autonomous University of Nicaragua, one of the most prestigious in the country.
From a very young age he was part of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, which overthrew the dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979. He held various positions in the government and the Sandinista party, from which he distanced himself in 1993.
poetic production
His poetic production includes “Line of fire” (1978), “Thunder and rainbow” (1982), “De la costilla de Eva” (1986), “Poesía reunited” (1989), “Apogeo” (1997), ” I am fire, separated and sword put away” (2006) and “In advanced youth” (2013), as well as the anthologies “Insurrectionary Love” (1984) and “The Woman’s Eye” (1991).
In 2020 he received the Jaime Gil de Biedma Poetry Prize in Spain for the work “The red fish that swims in the chest”.
Gioconda Belli defines herself as a “poet, novelist, feminist and humanist” and is the author of eight novels: “The inhabited woman” (1988), “Sofía de los omens” (1990), “Waslala” (1996), “El pergamino of seduction” (2005), “Infinity in the palm of the hand” (2008), “The country of women” (2010), “The intense heat of the moon” (2014), and “The fevers of memory” (2018).
He has also written two books of essays, “Rebellions and revelations” (2017) and “Fireflies” (2022).