How the contemporary poetry is helping to build feminism in Costa Rica

By Alexandra Valverde Muñoz – International Relations Student

The world is changing, and we see how women are being empowered by owning their stories and taking back the issues they have seen. We have seen how the history tried to delete women experiences and we have seen as well that feminism is also taking a huge different approach, a 4th wave of strong women are taking the streets and social media, but we don’t talk much about how female writers are contributing to the cause.

The contemporary poetry is taking a new level in the scene, and books sales about social issues have been increasing. Around the globe social issues like hate crimes and feminicides are raging up people to be more confident and speak up louder for the people in the back. Contemporary literature in different platforms is being consumed in the search of deconstruct the prejudices, the newest generations are being more aware that they need to do something, but in an era were what we consume is also visual, it’s not enough just to read but also to live the movement from the inside, and that’s how women are showing what they can do with only words. These words are just fuel to the fire that is trying to burn down the patriarchy.

Shirley Campbell is one of the Costa Rican authors that is trying to empower other women, mostly those women that suffer racism, she lives under two microscopes, one is the racism, and the other is the misogyny, her poems are just a representation of her own reality, and that’s why she encourages other women to speak up about what’s happening to them. She insists that women have incredible knowledge that needs to be transcribed into text and that’s the reason for her to not only express her stories, but she’s also been acting as an activist to boost other’s to share their own (Mendez, 2019).

It’s important to mention that Latin American feminism is getting stronger, there are now hundreds of authors looking for a way to be heard, Rebeca Lane also knows as Miss Penny Lane is a Central American/Guatemalan rapper, which is also a demonstration of how poetry it’s transcribed to music. Her feminist anthems such as Ni Una Menos or Mujer Lunar are part of feminist circles and there are present in every single march. It’s only enough to understand what’s happening by listening to Ni Una Menos “desde México hasta Chile y en el planeta entero, en pie de lucha porque vivas nos queremos, no tenemos miedo no queremos a ni una menos.” (Lane, 2017).

It’s not a secret that entering into the literature movement for young people it’s hard, even more for women, but now Costa Rican women are taking ownership of building their own space, their fight is intersectional, and they are eager to let the world know that their words are also weapons against the patriarchy, they have empowered themselves in a manner where they are now being included internationally (Rodríguez, 2020). Thanks to that empowerment they built their own community, and they were not waiting to be included. This is part of what women in the new feminism wave do, and this is exactly what their poetry talk about.

It’s definitely a new age, women in poetry do not expect to the opportunities to come, they create their own opportunities, we see them in houses, public activities, restaurants and bars going to the stage and speak their truth. They aim to inspire more women to join the fight so all together can burn brighter, that their flames are only stronger when combined and this is the way to burn down the patriarchy. It’s not only poetry, but also it is empowerment to light up a new tomorrow.

MOXIE es el Canal de ULACIT (www.ulacit.ac.cr), producido por y para los estudiantes universitarios, en alianza con el medio periodístico independiente Delfino.cr, con el propósito de brindarles un espacio para generar y difundir sus ideas.  Se llama Moxie - que en inglés urbano significa tener la capacidad de enfrentar las dificultades con inteligencia, audacia y valentía - en honor a nuestros alumnos, cuyo “moxie” los caracteriza.

References:

• Lane, R. (2017, January 11). Ni una menos by Rebecca Lane. Bandcamp. https://rebecalane.bandcamp.com/track/ni-una-menos

• Mendez, A. (2019, September 1). Poeta Shirley Campbell: “Tenemos que volver a escribir nuestra historia”. Universidad de Costa Rica. https://www.ucr.ac.cr/noticias/2019/09/01/poeta-shirley-campbell-tenemos-que-volver-a-escribir-nuestra-historia.html

• Rodríguez, E. (2020, June 4). Poesía joven costarricense cruzó fronteras y encontró espacio en editoriales internacionales. El Observador CR. https://observador.cr/poesia-joven-costarricense-cruzo-fronteras-y-encontro-espacio-en-editoriales-internacionales/