Overview

Elvira Hernndez (1951-) is one of the most interesting and innovative Latin American poets writing today. This critical edition is the first of its kind in English, collecting Hernndez's works from 1981 to the present day. Beyond The Chilean Flag provides an indispensable insight into Chilean recent history, from The Chilean Flag, a book written and secretly distributed during Pinochet's dictatorship, to her role as an artist and activist in the social turmoil of 2019, along with artifacts such as Cartas al azar (1989) and other scattered poems. Alongside the English translations of Hernndez's poetry, this edition includes six compelling scholarly essays by eminent scholars and poets, offering new understandings of Hernndez's work, including her relationship with the Chilean neo-avant-garde, how she pushed the limits of linguistic expression under dictatorship, her latest critical approach to the ecological crisis, and more, in order to consider Hernndez's writing from a contemporary expanded context.

Full Product Details

Author:   Elvira Hernández ,  Jèssica Pujol Duran (Assistant Professor, University of Santiago de Chile) ,  Macarena Urzúa Urzúa Opazo (Researcher and Associate Professor in Latin American Literature, University of Santiago de Chile)
Publisher:   Edinburgh University Press
Imprint:   Edinburgh University Press
ISBN:  

9781399551939

ISBN 10:   1399551930
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   31 May 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Language:   English

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Editors’ Preface. Elvira Hernández: A Life in Poetry Jèssica Pujol Duran and Macarena Urzúa Opazo Introduction. Reading Elvira Hernández: Silence, Irony and the Civic Imagination Alec Schumacher Part I. Poetry Collections and Artefacts 1. La bandera de Chile [The Chilean Flag] (1981) a) Introduction by Cecilia Vicuña b) The Chilean Flag c)María Inés Zaldívar. ‘What is a Flag and What is it for? On La bandera de Chile by Elvira Hernández’ 2. ¡Arre! Halley ¡Arre! [Giddy up, Halley!] (1986) 3. Carta de viaje [Voyage Chart] (1989) 4. Cartas al azar [Chance Cards] (1989) 5. Santiago Waria [Santiago Waria] (1992) 6. Álbum de Valparaíso [Valparaiso Album] (2002) 7. Seudoaraunaca y otras banderas [Seudoaraucana and Other Flags] (2017) 8. Un fantasma recorre el mundo [A Ghost Walks the World] (2012) 9. ‘Ocupo renglones’ [I Use Lines] (2014) 10. Pájaros desde mi ventana [Birds from my Window] (2018) Part II. Collected Poems (1987–2017) 1. Excavaciones [Excavations] (1987–2017) 2. Los trabajos y los días [Works and Days] (2016) Part III. Critical Essays 1. ‘Elvira Hernández, Poet of Destitution’ William Rowe 2. ‘“No soy tan moderna”: The Poetic Work of Elvira Hernández Beyond the Neovanguardia’ Lorena Garrido 3. ‘debajo de la ciudad, debajo de las palabras ïï beneath the city, beneath the words’ Soledad Fariña and Jen/Eleana Hofer 4. ‘A Chilean Poetry Card Reading: About Cartas al azar: Muestra de poesía chilena (1989) by María Teresa Adriasola and Verónica Zondek’ Jorge Polando and Jonathan Opazo 5. ‘Elvira Hernández: An Alphabet to Decolonise the Chilean Transition’ Magda Sepúlveda Eriz 6. ‘Where no birds sing: [A1] Biodiversity loss in contemporary Chile in Elvira Hernández’s Pájaros desde mi ventana’ Niall Binns Annotated Bibliography Notes on Contributors Index

Reviews

Jèssica Pujol Duran and Macarena Urzúa Opazo present a carefully curated critical edition that brings Hernández’s transformative poetics to the anglophone world. A combination of poetry, translations, and critical and creative responses, this provocative book illuminates Hernández’s creation of ‘common spaces’ between reader and poet, language and body, and meaning and material. -- Rachel Robinson, University of Galway

Jèssica Pujol Duran and Macarena Urzúa Opazo present a carefully curated critical edition that brings Hernández’ transformative poetics to the anglophone world. A combination of poetry, translations, and critical and creative responses, this provocative book illuminates Hernández’ creation of ‘common spaces’ between reader and poet, language and body, and meaning and material. -- Rachel Robinson, University of Galway

Author Information

Jèssica Pujol Duran is Associate Professor in Latin American and Comparative Literature at the University of Santiago de Chile. Macarena Urzúa Opazo is a Researcher and Associate Professor in Latin American Literature at University of Santiago de Chile.

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