"I saw that it was possible to write love poems which were also revolutionary, which could integrate personal and collective experiences."

Biography

Nicaraguan sandinist writer born in Managua Dec 9 1948. After going to school at the Colegio de la Asunción she graduated at Charles Marcus Price College after studying in Madrid. After her return to Nicaragua in 1970 she worked as in a publishing agency and later published La Prensa Literaria. She won the Mariano Fiallos Gil prize for poetry in 1972 and the Casa de las Américas one in 1978, by which time she was already fighting in the FSLN. After winning the revolution, she worked in the PR office of the same party.

Gioconda Bellis works include volumes of poetry (political, erotical and both) and some highly acclaimed novels. Her writing style follows the tradition of the phantastic realism other latin american writers like Ernesto Cardenal, Claribel Alegría and Isabel Allende make use of while still retaining a vivid political message for socialism and the improvement of the social situation of women in the society.

Bibliography

  • From Eve's Rib - poems (translated)
  • Waslala - novel situated in the near future about a journalist discovering the hidden side of Nicaragua
  • The Inhabited Woman (La mujer habitada, 1988) - novel
    Lavinia, a young, aspiring architect in Managua before the revolution, ever more feels the presence of an indigenous woman from the time of the spanish conquista growing in her as she eats the fruit from an orange tree. She decides to fight against the opressors of her time.
  • Sofía de los presagios (Sofia de los presagios, 1991) - novel
  • De la costilla de Eva (1986(7?)) - poems
  • El ojo de la mujer (1985) - poems
  • Amor insurrecto (1984(5?) - novel
  • Truenos y arco iris (1982) - poems
  • Linea de fuego (1978) - poems (Casas de las Americas Prize)
  • Sobre la grama (1974) - poems