This issue of our Translators' Corner features the English translation of three poems by the Argentine author Alfonsina Storni (1892–1938). Two of the translated poems, “Sábado” and “Tú me quieres blanca” (“Saturday” and “You Want Me White” in this English version), are from the poetry collection El dulce daño, published in 1918. The third poem, “Una” (“Her” in its English translation), is included in the collection Ocre, published in 1925.
This selection exemplifies what Alfonsina Storni is celebrated for today: her role as a pioneer of modern women’s literature in Latin America, driven to address issues such as gender inequality, the unattainable ideals imposed on women, and the longing for emancipation though her lyrical creations.
The publication of these three poems, translated by Silas Mullins and Alejandro López, pays homage to Storni’s poetry—innovative and necessary in both form and theme—whose message of justice and authenticity continues to resonate more than a century after their first publication.
