ABSTRACT
This chapter reflects on contemporary social and media debates on trauma and memory in Latin America, through the lens of women memoirs. The paper acknowledges a memory turn in Spanish-American literature, considering works about the 1970s–1980s guerrillas and revolutions, which have been published in the 2000s. The aim is to trace the particular uses of language that women writers have developed since the end of the 20th century until now to represent themselves while traveling by their own, getting involved in dangerous politics and still writing about it, across a continent in war. By focusing on creative nonfiction I propose to shed light into minor literary genres and lesser known female authors, studying their capacity to represent reality as a way of individual and collective expression.
The study focuses mainly on The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War (El país bajo mi piel, 2001), by Nicaraguan novelist and poet Gioconda Belli. This book offers a female perspective on war and politics, while also raising awareness of class and gender inequalities. This chapter will compare Belli’s work with other authors who shared exiles and censorship, such as Argentinean Luisa Valenzuela and Uruguayan Cristina Peri Rossi.
