Claribel Alegría was born in Estelí, Nicaragua, but spent most of her youth in the Santa Ana region of western El Salvador because of her father’s political exile. She would not return to her country of origin until 1979, after the Sandinista National Liberation Front (fsln) took control of the government. In 1943 she came to the United States to study at George Washington University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in philosophy and letters. Influenced by the political climate of Central America, Alegría’s poetry has focused on the human condition in the region, which prompted Nicaraguan poet Daisy Zamora to say of her work: “She has been an indefatigable advocate for human rights throughout her life, and her work has made an impact around the world because she has unfailingly spoken up for justice and liberty . . . becoming a voice for the voiceless and the dispossessed.”

Alegría’s numerous books of poetry include Anillo de silencio (1948; Ring of silence), Acuario (1956; Aquarium), Huésped de mi tiempo (1961; Guest of my time), Sobrevivo (1978; I survive), Mujer del río / Woman of the River (1989), Saudade (1999; Eng. Sorrow, 1999), and Soltando amarras (2002; Eng. Casting Off, 2003). She edited Homenaje a El Salvador (1981; Tribute to El Salvador) and On the Front Line: Guerilla Poetry of El Salvador (1989). Her two major poetry anthologies in Spanish include Una vida en poemas, ed. Conny Villafranca F. (2003), and Esto soy: Antología poética de Claribel Alegría, ed. Luis Alvarenga (2004). She also co-wrote the novel Cenizas de Izalco (1966; Eng. Ashes of Izalco, 1989) with her husband, Darwin J. Flakoll. Her work has appeared in the Paris Review, TriQuarterly, and many anthologies. She was also featured in The Language of Life (1995), a Bill Moyers documentary series that focused on poets and the life experiences that inspire their work. Alegría has received Cuba’s Casa de las Américas Prize, the U.S. Independent Publisher Book Award for Poetry, a doctorate honoris causa from Eastern Connecticut University, and an honorary degree from the Universidad Centroamericana in Managua. She has been honored by the Nicaraguan Academy of Language for her contribution to Central American culture, recognized by the Nicaraguan Writers Center for her valuable contribution to Nicaraguan literature, appointed an honorary member of the Nicaraguan Institute of Hispanic Culture, and named Citizen of the Century by the city of Estelí, Nicaragua. A bilingual edition of her new and selected poems, translated by Margaret Sayers Peden and others, is forthcoming from Curbstone Press.

• Claribel Alegría Interviews (Podcasts)
  
  
• Listen to Daisy Zamora, George Evans, and Sandy Taylor talk about Alegría’s work on Wisconsin Public Radio’s Here on Earth (May 2007)