Fence has recently published “I celebrate my permanence in the eye of the beast”: six women writing from El Salvador, a folio curated by three Salvadoran-American translators: Nestor Gómez, Yvette Siegert, and Alexandra Lytton Regalado.
Invited by poet and guest Editor-in-Chief, Edgar Garcia, Maryam Ivette Parhizkar and Óscar Moisés Díaz represented their collective Tierra Narrative as co-editors for Fence’s first translation section in 2022. “I celebrate my permanence in the eye of the best:” six women writing from El Salvador” is a curated selection of work from Fence’s Issue 40.
This folio celebrates writers Lourdes Ferrufino, Ana María Rivas, Jacinta Escudos, Krisma Mancia, Lauri García Dueñas, and Amada Libertad, whose works span from the years of the Salvadoran Civil War through the present.
Here’s a breakdown of these six writers and their pieces:
Lourdes Ferrufino (b. 1992) - Ferrufino’s poems, translated by Nestor Gómez, convey her suffering and resiliency. A line from Ferrufino’s poem, “Celebration,” is used for the folio title, in which the speaker confronts “the eye of the beast” speaking to her indestructibility in the face of oppression.
Ana María Rivas (b. 1995) - Rivas is the youngest poet in the folio and reflects on the violence of women’s gendered roles, stating, “Long we served the office / of giving birth, cooking dinner, raising beasts” in her protest poem “A Woman.” Her poems are also translated by Nestor Gómez.
Jacinta Escudos (b. 1961) - Yvette Siegert has translated “The Devil Knows My Name,” a short story from one of El Salvador’s foremost contemporary fiction writers, Jacinta Escudos. Her story follows a feminine narrator and the devil who visits her over several years.
Krisma Mancia (b. 1980) - Two poems from Mancia are translated by Alexandra Lytton Regalado. “XXIV” illustrates how imprisonment affects lovers, and “Elegy for Oblivion” explores an unincarcerated lover’s contemplations on forgetting.
Lauri García Dueñas (b. 1980) - Also translated by Regalado, Lauri García Dueñas has three poems in this folio that speak truth to the anti-maternal world and call for future justice.
Amada Libertad (b. 1970) - Amada Libertad is the nom de guerre of Salvadoran civil war revolutionary Leyla Patricia Quintana Marxelly. Her poems, translated by Yvette Siegert, are testaments to the revolutionary power of art. Her poetry reimagines a better future while fighting against the present's oppression.
This folio shines a light on the legacy of feminist thought and activism within El Salvador’s literary history. Make yourself some coffee or tea and treat yourself to this folio of incredible Salvadorian writing.