4 Latin writers who will fill your library with the magic of the Caribbean

Immerse yourself in the magical and dark imaginary of the Caribbean with these four incredible writers

Caribbean literature is full of female voices that will take us IGNORE INTO a narrative that has been influenced by the socio-political events of their countries, and whose works play with topics ranging from violence, migration, and multiculturalism, to love, family and memory. Do you know who it is? Here we tell you

Leer en español: 4 escritoras latinas que llenarán tu biblioteca con la magia del Caribe

1. Rosario Ferré

She was born in Puerto Rico in 1938, under a family of great economic acquisition. Her work ranges from novels, short stories and poetry, to essays and literary criticism. With more than 20 books published, Ferré became one of the most representative female voices of Caribbean literature and of her country, who left a great legacy after her death in 2016.

She was also awarded several prizes, such as the Liberatur Prix of the Frankfurt Book Fair, according to The Museum. One of her most recognized books is undoubtedly The House of the Lagoon, 1995. In this, Ferré explores the theme of memory, where two characters face each other in a power struggle over family truth, its truth, or less that other side of the story they know.

You may be interested: Latam BookLook: "The Power" by Naomi Alderman

They are Isabel Monfort and Quintín Mendizábal, a married couple. According to Lecturalia, "in this game of uncertainty that involves the evocation of the past, this ironic and content story is woven, where male and female voices intermingle, triumphs and concessions, love and hatred, in short, the lines vital of a varied altarpiece of endearing characters."

2. Julia Álvarez

Writer daughter of Dominican migrants, born in New York in 1950. With more than 20 published works, Álvarez has received great literary awards such as Pen Oakland / Josephine Miles and F. Scott Fitzgerald, as well as the Prize for Author Pura Belpré. He also received the National Medal of the Arts, one of the highest honors granted to artists by the government of the United States and which is delivered by the president.

One of her most famous works is perhaps his first novel, How the Garcia Girls Lost the Accent, which was published in 1991. This tells the story of four sisters who in an attempt to escape from the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, migrate to the US together with their parents. In fact, this work is based on the personal experience of Álvarez and his family.

Álvarez herself says on her website that her father had got IGNORE INTO trouble and was being persecuted, so they had to escape. In general, this is a work that, like many other books, deals with the subject of memory and identity. His narrative confronts his characters in the midst of two cultures, the Caribbean and the American, which will allow you to immerse yourself in the migrant's gaze.

3. Edwidge Danticat

Born in Haiti in 1969, this writer is one of the most emblematic female voices of contemporary American literature. She has written from novels, stories, and essays, to scripts. She was awarded the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, among many others. Currently, he has published around 17 books, among which are Krik? Krak!

Published in 1996, this is a short story book that tells 10 stories that, as explained on its website, "cover both the cruelties and the high ideals of Haitian life." This writer also addresses the issue of that meeting between two cultures, the Caribbean and the American. Like Álvarez, Danticat also had to migrate, although for different reasons.

However, she also lived in a period of great violence during the Duvalier regime, which has influenced his work and which is reflected in Krik? Krak! According to Goodreads, Danticat "evokes the wonder, terror and anguish of her native Haiti, and the lasting strength of the women of Haiti, with a vibrant image and a narrative grace that testifies to the suffering and courage of its people."

Read also: An altar for the dead to honor these three Latin writers

4. Wendy Guerra

Cuban writer born in 1970, was a student of Gabriel García Márquez at the Higher Institute of Art of Havana. In her works, they stand out from poetry to novels, and he has won several awards. He has also written for several newspapers, such as El País and El Mundo. In addition, it is part of Bogotá 39, a list that brings together the 39 most representative literary authors of this generation.

One of the works that we recommend you to read is Domingo de Revolución, published in 2016, which is considered by El País as "a story of social and political terror". Tells the story of a poet named Cleo who becomes the target of two groups that seem to suspect her success as a writer. With this novel, Guerrero allows us to immerse ourselves in the reality of Cuba from the perspective of this female character.

"Cloistered in a beautiful mansion in El Vedado under the wonderful light of a city stopped in time, Cleo lives a sentimental adventure with a Hollywood actor at the same time that he" discovers "his parents and resists in a country that blames him for his great sin: write what he thinks"

Do you know any of these writers? What book do you recommend?

LatinAmerican Post | Diana Rojas Leal

Translated from "4 escritoras latinas que llenarán tu biblioteca con la magia del Caribe" 

Listen to this article

 

Listen this article