Sapphic tradition in the poetry of five hispanoamerican authors.

Abstract

The aim of this article is to demonstrate the existence of a
Sapphic genealogy in contemporary poetry written by women, particularly in the work of five Hispanic American authors born in the mid-20th century. Following a brief analysis of the Sapphic question—commonly referred to
as the Sapphofrage—and the reception of Sapphic verse from a gender perspective, the study explores how the figure and poetic voice of Sappho have left a profound and enduring mark on modern lyric poetry. The analysis
takes as its point of departure the fragments of Sappho translated into English by Anne Carson and subsequently into Spanish by Aurora Luque. Drawing on these translations, the article traces references to the Greek
poet in contemporary texts, whether through explicit mentions or allusions to female homoeroticism, in which the influence of the Lesbian poet is unmistakable. Many of these poems display a consistent preference for
natural imagery, along with a tendency toward religious and mythological analogies, evoking the symbolic world of ancient Sapphic poetry. At the same time, the persistence of a heterosexualizing interpretation of Sappho—promoted by Latin poets such as Catullus and Ovid, who denied her desire for other women—is critically examined. However, this interpretation has become increasingly marginal, as advances in gender studies have paved the way for more nuanced and faithful philological readings of Sappho’s work. Thus, the article concludes that a Sapphic intertextuality remains vibrant thousands of years after the birth of the poet from Lesbos.