Chilean Women’s Poetry under Neoliberalism, 1980–2020
£19.99
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Published 30 April 2027. Can be pre-ordered from 30 October 2026
About this book
Examines how women poets have expressed resistance against neoliberalism in Chile at times of intense political upheaval
- A 4-decade chronology following on women’s poetry response to neoliberal ideology
- Takes an interdisciplinary approach to poetic work engaging with neoliberalism in Chile
- Centres on iconic works by canonical Chilean authors that deserve study in an international setting
Chilean Women’s Poetry under Neoliberalism, 1980-2020 explores how the works of 6 women poets interact with the imposition and development of neoliberalism in Chile over 4 decades. The book follows a chronology that joins poetic work that criticises the model from its inception during dictatorship times (1980s), through a democratic transition that did not live up to its expectations (1990s), until the naturalisation of neoliberalism as a new normal that seems not possible to overcome (2000s). Finally, the 2010s show how the great inequalities denounced in the works from the previous 3 decades found concrete resistance through the October 2019 social revolt. This juncture brings new poetry hoping for a refoundation of Chile while also imagining the failure of a revolutionary movement. In the end, the latter came to pass.
Reviews
Bárbara Fernández-Melleda brilliantly kickstarts her analytical journey when the sweeping violence of the Pinochet dictatorship installed the neoliberal model. Her book highlights various mechanisms of resistance against a repressive and individualistic social system. It also examines the asymmetry affecting Chilean literary production, perpetuating patriarchal practices that reduce or negate the contributions carried by the aesthetics of women writers.
Table of contents
List of Figures
Preface and Acknowledgements
Introduction: Women’s Poetry in Neoliberal Chile, 1980-2020
Part I: 1980s. Confronting the Darkness in the Pinochet Era
1. Bobby Sands desfallece en el muro (1983) by Carmen Berenguer
2. La bandera de Chile (1981/1991) by Elvira Hernández
Part II: 1990s. Expressing Disillusion in the Early Transition to Democracy
3. Escrito en Braille (1999) by Alejandra del Río
4. Uranio (1999) by Marina Arrate
Part III: 2000s. Depicting Inescapability and Despair in Neoliberal Times
5. ©Copyright (2003) by Nadia Prado
6. Bracea (2007) by Malú Urriola
Epilogue: The 2019 Uprising and Beyond
Index