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Clara Isabel Alegría Vides
Alegría at the 3rd annual International Poetry Festival in Granada.
Born	May 12, 1924Estelí, Nicaragua
Pen name	Claribel Alegría
Occupation	Poet, Novelist
Nationality	Nicaraguan

Clara Isabel Alegría Vides^[1] (born May 12, 1924) is a Nicaraguan poet, essayist, novelist, and journalist who was a major voice in the literature of contemporary Central America. She writes under the pseudonym Claribel Alegría.^[2]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Awards 4 Published works 5 Further reading 6 References 7 External links

Early life

Alegría was born in Estelí, Nicaragua and grew up in the Santa Ana area in western El Salvador. In 1943, she moved to the United States and in 1948 received a B.A. in Philosophy and Letters from George Washington University.^[3] Alegría was committed to nonviolent resistance. She had a close association with the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), which overthrew Anastasio Somoza Debayle and took control of the Nicaraguan government in 1979. Alegría returned to Nicaragua in 1985 to aid in the reconstruction of Nicaragua.

Alegría now lives in Managua, Nicaragua.^[3]

Career

Alegría’s works of literature reflect the style of the popular literary current in Central America during the 1950s and 1960s, “la generacion comprometida” (the committed generation). Her works follow the practice of several poets of her generation who are critical of their societies and make claims for rights using a language which is often counter-literary. Alegría has published many books of poetry: Casting Off (2003), Sorrow (1999), Umbrales (1996), Fuga de Canto Grande (1992) and La Mujer del Río (1989).

Alegría has published novels and children’s stories.

Awards

• In 1978 she received the Cuban-sponsored Casa de las Américas prize for Sobrevivo (I Survive), a poetry collection. She was awarded this prize alongside Gioconda Belli.
• In 2006, she was awarded the Neustadt International Prize for Literature.

Published works

Anillo de silencio (1948) Suite de amor,angustia y soledad(1950) Vigilias (1953) Acuario (1955) Tres cuentos (1958) Huésped de mi tiempo (1961) Vía única (1965) Cenizas de Izalco (1966) Aprendizaje (1970) Pasaré a cobrar y otros poemas (1973) Sobrevivo (1978, Premio Casa de las Américas de Poesía) La encrucijada salvadoreña (1980) Nicaragua: la revolución sandinista (1980) Flores del volcán; Suma y sigue (1981) Flowers from the Volcano (1983) No me agarran viva: la mujer salvadoreña en lucha (1983) Para Romper El Silencio: Resistencia Y Lucha En Las Carceles Salvadoreñas (1983) Álbum familiar (1984) Despierta, mi bien, despierta (1986)

Luisa en el país de la realidad (1987) Ashes of Izalco: a Novel (1989) Woman of the River (Pitt Poetry Series) (1989) They Won’t Take Me Alive: Salvadoran Women in Struggle for National Liberation (1990) Family Album (1991) Fugue (1993) Death of Somoza (1996) Thresholds/Umbrales: Poems (1996) Tunnel to Canto Grande (1996) El Nino Que Buscaba A Ayer (1997) Sorrow (1999) Casting Off (2003) Soltando Amarras (2003) In English translation Luisa in Realityland, trans. Darwin J. Flakoll (New York: Curbstone Press, 1987) ISBN 0-915306-70-0 Sorrow, trans. Carolyn Forché (New York: Curbstone Press, 1999) ISBN 1-880684-63-2

Further reading

• McGowan, Marcia P.; Boschetto-Sandoval, Sandra M. (1994). Claribel Alegria and Central American literature: critical essays. Athens: Ohio University Center for International Studies. ISBN 0-89680-179-9.