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Amer
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Sol
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Ál
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poems
Sara Carini
Università Cattolica delSacro Cuore
Clara Foppa Pedretti
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ABSTRACT: The poetry of Soledad Álvarez goes from Vuelo posible,in which reality is investigated through an erotic and sensualuse ofwordsto Lasestacionesíntimas,in which erotism isshaped into softer words reflecting the eternalconflictbetween reason and emotion.The perspective ofthe female figure emergesin hertextsasa meansto achieve and redefine the identity ofSanto Domingo through a painful and hard course towardsthe disclosure ofhuman soul.Thisarticle willinvestigate the new perception of words in relation to the new chance ofbuilding a Nation’s identity through themes thatare notonly historical.
KEYWORDS:Soledad Álvarez,Santo Domingo,CentralAmerica.
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IntroductionThe key role of literature as instrumentalin creating the identity of Latin American nations is known since the colonialperiod.The historicaland politicalevents that marked the ’70s and the ’80s, however,forced literary outputto face reality.Lack offreedom,especially freedom to expressdissent,in the differentcountries,created a need to reassertone’sown voice,especially in CentralAmerica with the spread of testimonial narrative (testimonio) (Arias, 1995: 75). The whole of the literary approach underwenta change,asa resultofthe withdrawalfrom the politicalscenario orthe death ofpublic figures embodying the regimes and the consequent ascent to power of the party faithful who, under the circumstances,implemented pseudo-democratic processes.Novelistsand poetsfeltthe desire to go beyond the mere endeavour to reaffirm their own self through the reformulation of knowledge coming from privileged culturalcentres such as Europe or the more suburban Buenos Aires and Mexico (Arias:75). They embarked on a path of criticism towards themselves and their social, political and cultural subordination, as well exemplified by the development of testimonial narrative and by the literary innovations of Nueva Novela Histórica. Peripheral literary studies developed and the need grew to formulate cultural and non-cultural messages that could coherently express allthe voices of a given nationalculture.This involved the reformulation of both the concept of nation and ofLatin America hitherto used by the ruling class to identify the nations of the continent1.By making use of irony,
dialogism and carnivalization,to cite some examples,CentralAmerican literature renewed itself,adopting in particular a self-critical approach where individuals were, with their own resignation, the first executionersofthemselves.Ashighlighted by Arturo Arias,the need forCentralAmerican intellectualsto
1The politicalconceptsinforming the idea ofnation in Latin America come from the outside and overthe yearshave proved to
be incompatible with the situation in Latin America.See Palacios;Moraga,2003:107-131.Historia contemporánea deAmérica Latina,Vol.1 – 1810-1850.La independencia yelcomienzo delosregímenesrepresentativos.EditorialSíntesis:Madrid,2003,p. 115,pp.107-131.
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“imitate” the privileged and peripheralculturalcentreshad led them to a sortof“sclerotic” viewpointand formalapproach in analysing reality.In recentliterature,Ariasstillpointsout,the construction ofnational identity as judgment passed on the State is no longer the prerogative of the whole narrative,but has become the focusoftestimonialnarrative,whereas“la literatura llamada ‘formal’se ha desplazado hacia el espacio libidinal,hacia elespacio deldeseo,donde articulan discursos que reocupan elespacio de la subjetividad pero sin un afán totalizador y sin un afán consensual” (Arias,1995:78).Intellectuals have thus come in contactwith themselves and with a contextwhich they decide to live withoutreservation, even participating in militantpolitics.
The presentstudy willexplore Soledad Álvarez’spoetry with a view to highlighting the similarities between the evolution ofthe female Self-related to intimate feelingsand memories-and the evolution of society and intellectualsin the Spanish-American historicalcontextafterhaving realized the failure ofthe revolutionary processes.
Life and works
Despite being focused on the emotionsofa female character,the poetry ofSoledad Álvarez mirrors, in our opinion,the change in Hispano-American perspective thatoccurred in the Dominican Republic after RafaelTrujillo’sdeath.Álvarez’spoemsstruck,firstand foremost,forthe empathy requested to the reader. The strong introspective appealof her verses is meant to lead the reader to understand the emotionsofa woman’slife,which personify the realization ofherstruggle on the path towardsmaturity and the acceptance ofherwomanhood “en tiemposde lucha tenaz y suicidio” (Álvarez,1994:23).To gain a deeperunderstanding ofthisinitialstatementitisnecessary to briefly turn to Álvarez’sessaysand focus on the idea ofethicalliterature emerging from herwritings.In “Losintelectualesy su laberinto” (Álvarez, 2009) - intentionally alluding to the title of the novel– the author urges Dominican intellectuals to contribute,by means of the word,to creating new world views and symbols and to offering practical teachings.Thus,the use ofthe word in intellectualwork and,more specifically,in poetic work,remainsa voluntary and ethicalexpression on the partofintellectuals,who can,in so doing,reflecton themselves and come into directcontactwith the reader;“la poesía esun acto de fe,[...]escribo poesía porque aspiro a la reconciliación delalma,a la recuperación de losvaloreshumanos” (Álvarez,2009:21).
The “ethical” message in Álvarez’swork precisely stemsfrom taking into consideration the context in which she writes.The importance ofthe autobiographicalelementpervades her whole view ofpoetry
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and,although referencesto Santo Domingo and Dominican history only appearin a few poemsin hertwo published collections,they are nonetheless essentialto interpret her work: “Todo poema,toda creación literaria es autobiográfica aunque no encontremos en ella datos puntuales o experiencias biográficas constatables.” (Interview with Soledad Álvarez,31 October2010).
Born in Santo Domingo in 1950,Soledad Álvarez spentthe firstyearsofherchildhood underthe dictatorialregime ofRafaelTrujillo.Ata very early age,in the late ’60s,she joined the literary group La Antorcha and took partin the movementknown as Joven poesía dominicana (Young Dominican Poetry). In thisperiod,she also started publishing in variousmagazinesand newspapers,such asElCaribeand later
ElNacional.In 1975,she moved to Cuba,where she studied and graduated in Philology atthe University of Havana with a focus on Latin American literature.During her studies in Cuba,she worked at the Centro de InvestigacionesLiterarias(Centre forLiterary Research)ofCasa de lasAméricas,where she met some ofthe mostnotable literary figuresofthe time and enjoyed the culturalatmosphere ofCasa de las Américas.Back in the Dominican Republic,she continued herwork aspoetand critic.In 1980,she was awarded the Siboney Essay Prize for her book La Magna Patria de Pedro Henríquez Ureña. Una interpretación desu americanismo.In 1994,herfirstcollection ofpoemsVuelo posibleappeared,followed by
Lasestacionesíntimasin 2006.Álvarez’spoemshave been translated and published in variousnationaland foreign journals and have appeared in numerous anthologies of Dominican poetry,including Sin otro
profeta quetu canto,Poesía joven dominicana,Antología deLiteratura Dominicana y ElPaisajeDominicano.
Pintura yPoesía2.Herpoetry opensup the possibility ofreconstructing collective identity also through the
analysisofan introspective approach.Herview,centred on an independentfemale Self,enablesthe reader to enter into contact with the “other” reality ofpolitics,namely life stemming from the psychological introspection of a Self that faces and copes with the daily disappointments of existence, mirroring disillusionmentrelated to the context.
2Despite appearing in anthologiesofDominican literature,the almosttotallack ofinternationalcriticism ofAlvarez’spoems
showsthatthere existsa peripheralculturalcircuitto which Dominican literature belongs(among the leastwidespread ofthe continent)thatbinds the literary message to the idea ofredefining identity also atthe sociologicaland politicallevel,which would be worth studying.The debate on this subject with references to CentralAmerican literature is wellunderway.For furtherinformation see Liano,2007:77-85.
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Vuelo posible:looking formaturity3
In Vuelo possible,the female Self is constantly struggling with its own inner ghosts.The main themesofthe collection are loneliness,death and remembrance ofthe past;the poetic Self,which is the centralcharacter,laysemphasison feelingsand emotionspervading the female figure’stask to “review” her own experiences.Emotions are described by means ofhighly sensory images combined with dreamlike themes which make readers active participants in the text,prompting them to overcome reality and pushing them towardscomprehension.
In “Pasaje de sueño”,the opening poem ofVuelo posible,Álvarez usesmetaphorand accumulation to depict,rightatthe start,the strength ofthe emotionsthatwillbe experienced by the Self:“En vano me sumerjo en lashondurasdeldiscernimiento /Mispalabrascrecen duelen conjuran./Voracidad deltodo poreltodo” (Álvarez,1994:7).The verb “crecer” (to grow up),togetherwith the semantic value ofpain and conspiracy (as we shallsee later on,it is an alien conspiracy,non-voluntary,belonging to others) constitute a single semantic unitthat,through the depth and growth metaphors,anticipatesthe experience ofthe poetic Self.Itisessentialto grasp the nuancesin Álvarez’spoetry,precisely because herwriting,and therefore herwords,are a leitmotifboth in Vuelo posibleand in Lasestacionesíntimas.Writing isa refuge, an “experiential” moment during which the Self “lives” when the only hope in real-life is death (or suicide).In ‘Clase de cocina’,the birth ofpoetic work isseen asa processofdiscovery and research that involves the human being in a visceral way and ultimately becomes one with poetic creation itself: “Arrancarle la piela la cebolla./[…]como en elpoema /la palabra./Atravesarsuscapastiernas,/[…] llegara su rotundo hencido corazón /[...]Con lasmanostendré que desgajarla /con lasuñasescarbarsu carnadura,/y lloraré incontenibleslágrimas/y su saborserá misabor/y su oloragrio mimarca” (Álvarez, 2006:57).
Soledad Álvarez herselfarguesthat“la visión de la poesía y la manera en que nosacercamosa ella no sólo no difiere de nuestra manera de verelmundo sino que la define,la determina”4.Writing then,both
in herpoemsand heressays,may also be a meansto enable the Selfto deepen itsawareness,asisevidenced by the fact that the topic is reverted to in “Variaciones delsilencio”:“Aquíla mesa donde elpoema escribe /su hendidura /– abismo delpensamiento en elque me extravío /queriendo decirla belleza que crece alfilo /deldeseo,y sangra –” (Álvarez,2006:59).
3De Sara Carini.
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Through the description of emotions, Soledad Álvarez reconstructs how the female Self gains awareness ofthe surrounding reality.It is noteworthy that in “Pasaje de sueño” the rhetoricalquestion asked by the poetic Selfisa clearallusion to the innerstrength thatwillsupportthe female figure even in her worstmoments:“¿Puede elmiedo de la vida resistir elllamamiento /de la vida?” (Álvarez,1994:8). Initially,the female character in Vuelo possible,described as lonely and worn-out,seemsto contrastwith the stoicism thatunderpinsÁlvarez’sview ofwomanhood;there are indeed severalreferencesto loneliness, death and the inability to communicate one’s own experiences:“La soledad es elsilencio / tan cerca de mí/tan leve afinidad corpórea” (Álvarez,1994:7-8)orstilla “Sola yo /volantinera delmundo-muerte / En elmomento en que todosmiran” (Álvarez,1994:9).Despite this,however,the emotionsofthe poetic Selfare to be intended asan expression ofangeratitssituation,in which itisthe victim ofan emotional state.The concept is wellexemplified in “Tiro de dados”,where the title itself explicitly recalls the condition decided forthe woman by fate,and in which she mustfind answersto define herselfalong the path to wisdom.In this light,loneliness and exhaustion appear almostobligatory steps towards gaining awarenessofone’swomanhood which,asitwillbe discussed lateron,isclosely related to the conceptof cyclesoften associated with seasons:“[...]En vano consultasoráculos,tablasde la ley /una señalalmenos de lo que eres/de lo que son lascosas./No pregunte./Alguien soñó portieste vacío /eligió tu nombre entre todos los nombres / y escribió con cenizas la cábala de la locura./ Preferirías un viaje por las más intrincadasgalerías/pero eresprisionera de ningún fin.” (Álvarez,1994:11).
The frustration feltby the female figure in Vuelo posiblestems from the awareness thatemotions linked to experiencesare bursting and violent,and preventher from living her own reality as she would like to.On the otherhand,in “Circense”,she feelslike a “volantinera en elvacío” (Álvarez,1994:9),but this does not prevent her from transforming her emotion into life: “Sola yo / Volantinera del mundo-muerte / En elmomento en que todos miran / Allá abajo / Sin elantifaz atroz / En esta carpa que enciendo con mis ojos /En este oscuro que encandilo con mis manos/ Y apaciguo /Alescapar /Hacia arriba” (Álvarez,1994:9).
The female figure in Vuelo posibleisaware ofhercondition,and although she carriesthe weightof hersituation,she isstrongly inclined to accepta change thatwilltake place with the passing oftime.Her “resignation” isconveyed through the intensely physicalorientation offeelings,experienced,through the poetic Self,notas a momentofreliefand pleasure,butalmostas pain caused by fear or maybe by the awareness thatitis impossible to live love asa feeling ofunity and shared path with the other.There is indeed no male partner,only fleeting lovers who leave emptiness behind them and whose memory is a traumatic eventrelated to nostalgia.The female figure isleftalone to face herown choices,which could be
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interpreted asa metaphorofthe woman victim ofhermarginalcondition,also from an historicalpointof view.Thisattitude resultsin the conscioussearch forsomething thatgoesbeyond mere “knowledge” and thatleadsherto a fullunderstanding oflife:“nada poseo y nada quiero /como no sea entenderla ráfaga iluminada delmisterio /elsentido /su revés” (Álvarez,1994:19).There isalmosta sortof“surrender” to feelingsin the expectation thatthey willcease to break violently into herlife.
Álvarez’s poetry is characterized by a sober and measured style.Expressions related to the eternal struggle between reason and emotions are somewhat softened by a rationaland studied use of words, which blend perfectly with the images they stand for.The rhetoricalstrategies used are notparticularly complex,butthe repeated use ofdevicessuch asparallelism,antithesis,metaphors,similesand oxymorons urge the reader to participate in the poetic eventin a sensory way,feeling empathy with the poetic Self. Through metaphorsand the skilfulchoice ofwordsdescribing sensory experiences,Álvarez can profusely describe situationseven asintense asthe physicalunion ofloversorthe bodily expression ofdesire,letting the reader sense the image described.The physicalorientation in these poemsbecomesa meansto reach the soulofthe otherand,atthe same time,discoveroneself.
Repeated use ofmetaphors,similes and parallelism with recurrentreferences to the sea and water symbolize the sense oflonelinessand isolation ofthe poetic Self,which isan unavoidable condition not only forman,butalso forpoetic creation.The carefuluse ofthe word soledad isparticularly important.It often appearsin Álvarez’spoems;itisnoteworthy thatin ‘Heridas’itiswritten with a capitalletter,thus shifting from being a generalsoledad to becoming a Soledad explicitly identified with the authorialSelf.
The description ofthe female Selfgainsintensity when compared with the few poemsnotdevoted to women included in Álvarez’stwo collections.They dealwith topicsrelated to history or to the city of Santo Domingo and embody the exterior matiz connoting the female situation. In this sense, it is ‘Historia’,the last of four poems dedicated to Santo Domingo,the most meaningfulwork,where the cornerstonesofSpanish-American identity reconstruction are discussed,namely the recontextualization of the pastand the amazementcaused by the succession ofevents:“Elaguacero ha destruido elpalacio de papel/poreldescampado navegan astillasde palabras/y un estupornàufrago /màscruelque esta noche / y la derrota” (Álvarez,1994:67).
The politicalsituation and the precariousstate ofaffairshiding behind the “palacio de papel” (paper building) are the elements which challenge the whole of personaland collective life.The “aguacero”
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the ensuing “democratic” government.Indeed,during the ’70sand the ’80s,the Dominican Republic,as wellas Latin America in general,were paralysed by historicalevents.This was partly due to the lack of interestshown by Western nations in implementing transparentpolicies to develop Latin America.The
“descampado” (waste land)embodiesthe bewildermentexperienced,afterthe end ofthe regimes,by Latin
American societies,left in the hands of inefficient institutions and historicaltruths imposed on them. Under such circumstances,justlike whathad happened during the independence period,literature was empowered to represent the “other” voice from an objective point of view (at least politically) (Shaw, 1999:260-263).
In describing the evolution ofher female figure,Soledad Álvarez portraysthe uncertainty reigning in Latin America atthe time,with the precarioussocio-politicalsituation mirrored in the insecurity faced by the woman. Just like she finds herself prey to her own emotions and ends up fighting against disillusionment,so Latin America ended up fighting againstthe end ofthe idea offreedom.
Attention to contextbecomeseven more pervasive afterthe publication ofLasestacionesíntimas.As argued by José Mármolin the introduction to the collection,in thissecond setofpoemsSoledad Álvarez hasmanaged to go from the “gravitación de la duda en elplano de la existencia” to an “interpretación del cuerpo femenino asumido como subversión radicalde la realidad y la herencia cultural,política y socialdel contexto latinoamericano, y particularmente caribeño-latinoamericano” (Mármol, 2006: 13). Indeed, compared to Vuelo posible,Lasestacionesíntimasisaboutthe evolution ofthe female Selfand ofherown world.
Lasestacionesíntimas:maturity gained5
Álvarez’spoetry in Lasestacionesíntimasisconsciousand bold,resulting from the maturity reached by the female character herselfwho,through the various stages ofher life,has learned to face and cope with herown emotions.The sensory and physicaldimension isstillrelevant,butitisexperienced with the awareness ofbeauty’s ephemeralnature.The woman acceptsthe passing oftime and its inevitable traces on the body with a sense ofnostalgia,butalso with irony,being confidentthatthe body isbut“the fence ofthe soul”,a mask under which the soullies in allits richness.Álvarez herselfargues thatthe female figure hasundergone a change between Vuelo posibleand Lasestacionesíntimas.
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In Lasestacionesíntimasthe female figure looksatthe processofbody decay with nostalgia,butalso with the irony thatcomesfrom wisdom.She feelsthe signsofdecay in herbody,and farfrom denying or rejecting them,she reinforcesthe processin frontofman’seyes:she takesoffthe undresswhich coversher (“desnuda estoy deldesnudo que me disfraza”)to stop being an objectofdesire and become a soulmate6.
Such conceptis wellexemplified in “Trofeo”,where Álvarez describes the envy feltby the poetic Selfof the explosive sensuality ofanotherwoman.Age and experience lead the woman to a maturity thatenables herto enjoy and accept,both spiritually and intellectually,hercondition:
“Yo quise alguna vez verme en su imagen,/aprenderde susencantosardides/estrategiasde la carne como escudo delalma /que sólo sabe de incertidumbresy dádivas./Pero ahora ella envejece /impenetrada y sola en elazogue,/puros huesossu cuerpo cubierto porcolgajosde piel;/no le bastan a la muerte susardides” (Álvarez,2006:69).
The bodily elementbringsindividualsnearto theirorigins,theirprimordialbeing,and becomesthe means through which a higher communion, a transcendent, absolute and perfect love are sought. Sensuality and eroticism go back to a primitive stage thatisrepresented assomewhatanimal-like courtship and behaviour.Thisiswellexemplified in “Primerencuentro”:“Marco miterritorio con la lengua,/[…] este lento acariciar mamífero en la noche del primer fuego, / hombre y mujer descubriéndose, / olisqueándose donde crece una florviva” (Álvarez,2006:25),orstillin “Zoología”:“[…]Puedesacariciar su lomo.Contaruna a una /vertebra y articulaciones./Olerlo.[…]/Rozarla boca sin riesgos.Sin lengua. Sólo /con loslabios./[…]No te fíes:despierto clavará lasgarras” (Álvarez,2006:27).
The last verse embodies once again a key element in Álvarez’s poems:loneliness,considered the originalcondition ofallhuman beings and,atthe same time,described with pain and disillusionment, though neverwith resignation.
Reference to the cyclicalnature and passing of time is likewise evocative.Time is seen as an inevitable source ofwisdom and isexplained in allegoricaltermsthrough the description ofthe seasonsin the poem Lasestacionesíntimas.Consisting in turn of four poems named after the four seasons, Las estacionesíntimashighlightsthe value ofexperience precisely through the depiction ofthe elementsproper to each season. Thus,spring witnesses curiosity and hope blooms:“como la hoja recién nacida que encontramos bajo la nieve / anunciando la primavera” (Álvarez,2006:43).Summer is an explosion of vitality and synonymous with maturity:“Elverano ha madurado los frutos./ Rotundo,rebosante de su savia se derrama / […] Elverano rezuma en los cuerpos,/ arabesco incesante multiplica sus huellas,/
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desata alegre impudiciasen lasmuchachas[...]” (Álvarez,2006:45).Autumn isdescribed asthe “estación templada de la vida”,where memory and emotions make pastexperiences relive in the poet’s soul“y es como volvera serpielde otra piel” (Álvarez,2006:47).Winter,too,isseen asthe season ofremembrance, a time when,being close to the end,human beingsrecalltheirpastand console themselveswith memories, unspoiled by disappointment:“Acaso elinvierno no sea solamente /la estación de laslluviasy delfrío:/ abrigo delrecuerdo ovillándose en símismo,/ evocada plenitud,cuando todo termina” (Álvarez,2006: 49).Itis noteworthy that,in the poems devoted to summer and autumn,the female Selfexpresses her desire and the willto awaken feelings,showing that she is no longer afraid to be daring,as she was in
Vuelo posible.She can now abandon herselfto emotions:“Ah,sícomo a losfrutoselverano madurara el deseo,/ y llegue – alfin – eldeshielo a micorazón” (Álvarez,2006:45).“¿Quién revuelve las hojas del parque /y lashace crepitar,/como una vez micuerpo?” (Álvarez,2006:47).
The passing oftime hasa dualrole in the evolution ofthe female figure.Notonly isita source of intellectualenrichment,butalso a source ofmaturity in accepting one’sown body and sensuality.The past isnotjustfullofnostalgic memories,butitisseen asa path to wisdom,so thatthe traceslefton the body by time are viewed by the woman assealsofexperience.
In her second collection,Soledad Álvarez gives us glimpses ofprivate spaces,such as family,the memories of “Nocturno festín”,the alcove of “Una cama no es una cama”.She also describes new geographic areas such as MountDesertIsland in “Primavera”,Rock Creek Park in “Otoño” and Fez in “Misterio de Fez”,making the reader her travelling companion along memoriesand thoughtsand trying
to find a way to controlthe emotions which in Vuelo posible were causing her so much anxiety and
exhaustion.
In herpoems,Álvarez offersusan originalportray ofthe female body,viewed asthe intimate side of the being through which the woman can expresswhatshe iswith naturalness.In so doing,she breaksaway from considering the body as an instrument of demand,establishing an intimate relationship with it, withoutany shames or conflicts.Itis through the physicaldimension thatshe can experience pain and pleasure.
The author’sstyle in thissecond collection ofpoemsislikewise refined and rational.The fluency of wordsstimulatesthe readers’sensesand awakenstheirfeelings.Although similes,oxymorons,parallelism, synesthesia and prosopopoeia are present,itis metaphor the mostwidely used rhetoricaldevice.Like in
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2006:27),“[…]en un marde aguashuracanadas,/y la cama esuna ola en su rompiente,/un torbellino de espuma abierta /en elque se arremolinan lospulposdeldeseo” (Álvarez,2006:31),butalso ofdeath, as exemplified by the various references to shipwreck. And to death,Soledad Álvarez devotes an entire poem, “Preguntas”, the last of her collection, where she tries to define death through the threefold repetition ofthe question “¿Qué es la muerte?”:“Es tu olvido en esta noche que no termina” (Álvarez, 2006:71).The “life and death” pair is used to suggest that pain suffered in life makes one experience death.
In sum,introspection,pervading allofSoledad Álvarez’spoems,isthe theme thathelpsthe reader understand the evolution of the poetic Self,which cannot be considered separately from its historical context.Even poemsthatare seemingly devoted to generaltopicshide referencesto the identity and the history ofSanto Domingo.In ‘Merengue final’,forinstance,allusionsto music and dance – which involve the individualin a totaland liberating way – directly referto the Dominican identity,and recallthe poetry ofthe Dominican poetMiesesBurgos7,strengthening the stoicism described in the lastverse:“yo bailaría
este merengue como sino fuera elfinal,/condenado a morirantesde la madrugada” (Álvarez,2006:40). Referencesto history are also evidentin “Variacionesdelsilencio”,where exile isthe background against which the female figure’sthoughtsare expressed:
“¿a quién buscaren lospasillosrecorridosporhormigasciegas,/[...]sin otra perspectiva que eldesastre?/[...]Si pudiera transponer la cancela deldestierro / llegaría para abrir puertas y ventanas./ [...] y en la mano abierta,sin enigmas,/la contraseña para elretorno./Pero ha sido una visión fugaz,/como soplo de nada” (Álvarez,2006:61).
Concluding remarks
Soledad Álvarez’s poetry makes the reader experience the evolution of consciousness both in intellectuals and in Latin America during the transition from authoritarian regimes to democracy,a transition which wascharacterized by a constantneed to redefine the nation and the processitself.Álvarez herselfconsiderspoetry inextricably linked to the Dominican and Latin American historicalcontext:
Me veo a mímisma y a mipoesía como un producto de lasparticularescondicioneshistóricasde losaños’60 – ’70 dominicanos,[...]Mimarca,como la de muchosescritoresy amigosfue la rebeldía y eltalante contestario,a losque se unían elconvencimiento de que desde nuestro lugar en la sociedad podíamos contribuir con un futuro mejor para la humanidad.[...]Luego vino la derrota,eldescubrimiento de que lossentimientos,lossueños,la juventud y también las
7As argued by José Mármolin the introduction to Lasestacionesíntimas:“La voz de Soledad Álvarez retumba,pues,con
acordeón,güira y tambora en la histórica realidad dominicana que resumiera MiesesBurgosen un inigualable verso final:'el furioso merengue que ha sido nuestra historia'”,p.16.
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utopíasse lasha tragado eltiempo.Pero ese destrozo no esnegativo,no esvergonzoso.Porelcontrario,esenriquecedor, esla esencia que nosdefine y nosenriquece.8
By no means does the work presented here cover allthe aspects ofSoledad Álvarez’s poetry,nor those related to Dominican poetry orliterature in general.Rather,itisintended asstarting pointin what could be, in our opinion, a new analytical perspective on Latin American literature and poetry. Revaluation ofculturalproducts coming from peripheralcircles and the analysis ofthe devices used to reformulate the elements typicalofLatin American literary tradition are essentialin outlining a literary “history”,oreven a complete panorama ofLatin American literature and the contextualfactorsthathave characterized it.
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Bi
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Álvarez,Soledad.Vuelo posible.Santo Domingo:Impresora Amigo delHogar,1994.
― Lasestacionesíntimas.Santo Domingo:Impresora Amigo delHogar,2006.
― De primera intención (Ensayosy comentariossobreliteratura).Santo Domingo:PublicacionesdelBanco
Centralde la República Dominicana,2009,pp.29-32.
Arias,Arturo.“Descolonizando elconocimiento,reformulando la textualidad:Repensando elpapelde la narrativa centroamericana”.Revista deCrítica Literaria Latinoamericana,1995,42,pp.73-86.
Liano, Dante. ¿Existe la literatura guatemalteca?, Centroamericana 13. Milan: EDUCatt Università Cattolica,2007,pp 77.85
Mármol, José. “Ebriedad de los sentidos”. Introduction to S. Álvarez, Las estaciones íntimas. Santo Domingo:Impresora Amigo delHogar,2006,pp.11-17.
Palacios, Guillermo y Moraga, Fabio. La independencia y elcomienzo de los regímenes representativos
(Historia contemporánea deAmérica Latina,vol.I:1810–1850)[sic].Madrid:Síntesis,2003.
Shaw,Donald. Nueva Narrativa Hispanoamericana. Boom,Posboom,Posmodernismo.Madrid:Cátedra, 1999.
