This exhibition, made entirely with the funds of the Museo del Escritor de Madrid, intended as a tribute to the work of so many women writers in the Spanish language during the 20th century, follows the trail left by these authors over the course of their lives. You will find their personal stories, the stories of their work, on a journey through their books (of course), but also through objects, manuscripts, letters, recordings and other pieces.
Bear in mind that this is neither a catalogue nor a list of the best women writers – many more would deserve to be included. The Spanish and Hispanic American women we have selected here are representatives of all those who helped create spaces for female voices in a literary world where the obstacles they had to overcome were far greater than those faced by men, especially as we go further back in time.
The pieces can be read in any order. Every section reveals new aspects of the life and work of each one of them, their many interactions: every object, every book, contains a story you are encouraged to discover.
Among the women authors present, we must highlight the Alicante-born Francisca “Paca” Aguirre, winner of the National Prize for Spanish Literature; Carmen Conde, the first woman to win a seat in the Royal Spanish Academy; Gabriela Mistral, the first and only woman writer in Spanish to win the Nobel Prize; María Zambrano, first woman to win the Cervantes Prize; Dulce María Loynaz, first Spanish-American woman to win the Cervantes Prize; and many others whose work has changed literature, such as Victoria Ocampo, Alejandra Pizarnik, Silvina Ocampo, Olga Orozco, Alfonsina Storni, María Elena Walsh, Norah Lange, Luisa Mercedes Levinson and Susana Thénon, from Argentina; Teresa de la Parra, from Venezuela; Delmira Agustini, Idea Vilariño and Marosa Di Giorgio, from Uruguay; Fina García Marruz, from Cuba; Elena Garro and Rosario Castellanos, from Mexico; María Mercedes Carranza and Maruja Vieira, from Colombia; Claribel Alegría, from Nicaragua; María Lejárraga, María Teresa León, Concha Méndez, Rosa Chacel, Mercedes Pinto, Elena Fortún, Ana María Matute, Carmen Martín Gaite, Carmen Laforet, Gloria Fuertes, Zenobia Camprubí, Guadalupe Grande and Josefina Aldecoa, from Spain.
Claudio Pérez Míguez y Raúl Manrique Girón
Curators of the exhibition