A Woman of Genius: The Intellectual Autobiography of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (English and Spanish Edition)

This volume is the first English-language publication of a major declaration of women's intellectual freedom, written in 1691 by a Mexican nun. Published in Spain in 1701 after her death, Sor Juana's La Repruesta a Sor Filotea has become one of the classic works in Spanish-American literature. Well-known as a poet during her lifetime, the nun's bold confrontation with high church authority, followed shortly by her death during an epidemic while tending to her sister nuns, has made her one of the folklore heroines of Latin America. The contemporary English-language translation has been done by Margaret Sayers Peden, professor of Spanish-American literature at the University of Missouri, who is highly regarded for her literary translations of modern authors such as Carlos Fuentes, Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, and Horacio Quiroga. Mrs. Peden's detailed introduction to the volume gives background information about the nun and the creation of her major writing.… (more)