Latin America

This week features Magda Portal (1900-1989), a prominent leftist feminist Peruvian poet. In the 1920s, Portal co-founded the literary journal “Colonida” with her sister, Maria Eilima Portal. She was also part of the " Amuta " editorial team founded by Carlos Mariategui, the influential Peruvian Marxist writer. She was also active in women’s rights and feminist movements in Peru. Facing political repersecutions and several arrests due to her involvement in labor and social movements, she was exiled and extensively travelled. She was connected internationally, having exchanged with other national leftists intellectuals and artists, such as Diego Rivera.

Primary text

Portal, Magda. 2009 “Selected Poems” in Peruvian Rebel by Kathleen Weaver. University Park: University of Pennsylvania. Pp.187-262.

Secondary texts

Weaver, Kathleen. 2009 “Introduction” and “First Exile” in Peruvian Rebel by Kathleen Weaver. University Park: University of Pennsylvania. Pp. xii-xiv, 41-94.