Poems, Protest, and a Dream: Selected Writings (Penguin Classics)

Rating:
Summary: Female Intellectualism
Review: A great intellectual is not commonly thought of to be a woman, especially in 17th century New Spain. In the midst of the highly structured Baroque literary period, an illegitimate child was baptized as Juana Ramírez de Asbaje, spent her adolescence at court, and left to become a nun where she could continue her studies in peace, rather than marrying. Although she was almost entirely self-educated, the word quickly spread of her intelligence. This caused envy and animosity towards her that she tried to avoid her entire adult life. Four years before she died, the church forced her to give up her writings and worldly studies. In her letter of response to this request, (included in the book) she became the first woman in Latin America to defend her gender's right to study and write as men could. Much of her work was commissioned, but more is being discovered of her autobiographical writings. This book includes one of the few known poems (Primero Sueño) that was not commissioned. The book is in Spanish and English on opposing pages. This is very advantageous if you are bilingual, and even if you aren't, I can't say enough about Margaret Sayers Peden's translations. Not only does she give you as close to word for word; she also preserves the original structure, themes, and rhyme schemes that are so essential in Baroque literature. Even if you go no further than this book, you will not be disappointed. It has a very complete collection of her most famous works. Unfortunately, so few people in the English-speaking U.S. has even heard of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. I was first introduced to her wonderful poetry in a Mexican History / English dyad in college. Since that first poem I read, I have been searching for books of her works, and about her life. I highly recommend the addiction.

Rating:
Summary: Ehhh...
Review: I found Sor Juana dull the first time I read her 'Responce' and even more dull when I reread it. She is very good at being subtle though, and alot of the time its what shes not saying that makes you think, I don't know if it was the translators fault, or what, but I just didn't enjoy it. But her poetry was beautifully translated in this edition.

Rating:
Summary: A superb introduction to a great mind
Review: Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz is one of those remarkable literary figures whose extraordinary body of work forces one to either reevaluate or refine one's ideas about the complex interrelationships between religion, gender, national identity, and ethnicity. A nun who lived in seventeenth century Mexico, she distinguished herself as a poet, playwright, and prose writer.

"Poems, Protest, and a Dream" is an excellent introduction to the life and work of this fascinating woman. This selection of her works includes her famous prose piece addressed to "Sor Filotea de la Cruz," a hearty helping of her poetry, and two selections from her dramatic corpus. The bilingual format of the text, with Sor Juana's Spanish original on each even-numbered page and Margaret Sayers Peden's elegant English translation on each odd-numbered page, allows one to easily compare the two versions.

The distinguished scholar Ilan Stavans has written an extensive 32 page introduction. Stavans describes in detail the historical and cultural context from which Sor Juana wrote; his sensitive and intelligent portrait of the woman and her age made me appreciate and enjoy her writings even more.

Sor Juana takes on themes that are still relevant (and often hotly debated) more than three centuries after she wrote these works. The response to Sor Filotea is a defense of female intellectual aspiration in a male-dominated culture; in the defense Sor Juana critically responds to those who use the Judeo-Christian Bible as a tool for intimidating and marginalizing women. With certain factions of the "religious right" still using the Bible as a weapon for demonizing certain individuals and social agendas, Sor Juana's words continue to ring fresh and clear.

Equally extraordinary is Sor Juana's loa (a dramatic scene which prefaces a longer play) to "The Divine Narcissus." The loa is an allegory depicting the early contact between Christianity and the religion of the Aztecs; in this piece I detect a subtle satirical thrust which adds to the complexity of Sor Juana's vision.

Sor Juana was a masterful stylist in multiple literary genres, and her depth of psychological and moral insight adds to her stature as a literary giant. Nobody should consider herself or himself literate in the fields of women's studies or Latin American studies without having read the works of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. "Poems, Protest, and a Dream" is an excellent resource for both independent reading and classroom use. Enjoy Sor Juana's artistry, and reflect on her ideas.