Quispe Presents at LASA Conference
José Quispe, a PhD student in our Hispanic Language & Literatures program, presented a paper at the 2024 Latin American Studies Association Conference. Quispe tells us about his presentation:
“As part of the panel “Fronteras, migraciones y redes queer,” I presented a paper on the poetic work of Venezuelan writer Esdras Parra. Parra is more widely known for her gender transition and the controversy it caused in her country than for the content of her literary work. A detailed reading of her poetry collection Este suelo secreto (This Secret Soil) reveals that Parra challenges all forms of identity taxonomy, forging unusual kinships with various elements of nature. Her poetic and political project seeks to explore the boundaries of any identity territory (particularly gender), while simultaneously questioning the hierarchies between species (human and non-human), the individuality of the body (conceived more as a threshold of experiences), and the declarative nature of poetic language (emphasizing instead its multiple meanings and ritualistic use).”