Exiled Nicaraguan poet and novelist Gioconda Belli, known for her feminist literature, has been awarded the Reina Sofia Ibero-American Poetry prize.
Belli’s work has been translated into more than 20 languages and includes 15 poetry collections, eight novels, and seven books of essays, testimonials, and children’s stories. The prize is considered the most important for Spanish and Portuguese poetry.
Her first poems were published in the Managua newspaper La Prensa when she was 20 years old. Her first poetry collection, Sobre la grama, or On the Grass, was published in 1972.
“I couldn’t be happier than to have won this poetry prize,” Belli said via Twitter. “I celebrate the enriching of Nicaragua’s poetry tradition. I dedicate it to my Nicaragua, mother of my inspiration, sorrowful country of my hope. Long live poetry!!!” Belli was stripped of her Nicaraguan citizenship by the government of President Ortega and lives in Spain. Along with those of other prominent critics of Ortega’s regime, Belli’s properties in Nicaragua were seized by the government in February. Ricardo Rivero, rector of Spain’s Salamanca University, which jointly awards the prize, said in a statement announcing the prize winner that beyond the quality of Belli’s literature, she has defended “values like the dignity of a person, the fight against tyranny, and the maintaining of a coherent position at all times.”
