Abstract
The focus of this essay is on the construction of Sandinista womanhood through its autobiographical depiction in a full range of embodied self-expression. It highlights the poetry of six guerilla poets of the revolution—Daisy Zamora, Gioconda Belli, Yolanda Blanco, Michele Najlis, Vidaluz Meneses, and Rosario Murillo—all of whom vocalize the emergence of the “new Nicaraguan woman” as experienced in the physical body.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. All translations of poems from Spanish to English are mine unless otherwise noted.
2. Translation by Andrea Nate.
3. For more on Ebert's discussion of the excess body, see chapter five, “Excess-ive Bodies: Essentialism, Indeterminacy and Retrofeminism,” in Ludic.
4. The ceiba is a species of tropical tree that grows to heights of ten to two-hundred feet, where it spreads into a very full, umbrella-like crown on top. Found widely in Central America, the tree is commonly regarded as the “world tree” or “tree of life” according to pre-Columbian religions.
5. Translation by Andrea Nate.