Dr. Sharon Keefe Ugalde

The anthology, titled En voz alta: las poetas de las generaciones de los 50 y los 70 (Out Loud: The Women Poets of the ‘50s and ‘70s Generations), collects works by 33 Spanish women, most of whom are living and some of whom have published widely to critical acclaim. The book, published by Hiperión Press in Madrid (2007), is the fifth book on Spanish poetry by Ugalde, Professor of Modern Languages at Texas State.

 
Various cultural forces in Spain have excluded most women’s voices from its literary canon. “Under the Franco regime—and in the previous centuries—women were silenced and couldn’t participate fully in the public sphere, simply because they were women. But, in spite of such circumstances, some did write poetry,” said Ugalde, who finds that Spain’s women poets of the mid 20^th century (writers such as Julia Uceda, María Victoria Atencia, and Clara Janés) have much to say that is distinct from their male counterparts.

 

Several of the poets anthologized in  En voz alta appeared with Dr. Ugalde, standing center, at the book's presentation in Málaga in June.

The collected works reflect the evolution of the poets’ craft as they explore women’s roles in society, Spanish political history, language and their identity as writers, mother-daughter relationships, desire, and other concerns.  Ugalde’s introduction and statements by each of the poets provide a context for reading the poems, whose authors have striven to create a place for themselves within, but also distinct from, the patriarchal order.

 
“There will come a point when anthologies of women writers will no longer be necessary, but that moment remains in the future,” Ugalde said in a recent interview with El Correo newspaper in Bilbao, Spain. “Now, the generations of the 1950s and following are in need of recognition.”

More information on the book is available by contacting Dr. Ugalde, (512) 245-2360, su01@txstate.edu.

Read interviews with Dr. Ugalde about her book, En voz alta: El Corréo, Bilbao, Spain, June 27, 2007 Málaga hoy, June 27, 2007