A Centennial for Herstory
Angela Acosta
I didn’t have to, but I remembered you.
Look, I learned a whole language just to
pronounce your name in Spanish, to read the stories
you left for us, to live the lives you couldn’t.
I translated your dreams back into English
and maybe along the way I found my own.
In other poems, in other places, I listed your names,
las poetisas, poets Carmen, Ernestina, Concha,
las artistas, artists Maruja, Josefina, Delhy,
I could go on, in step with the ebbs and flows
of avant-garde currents and poems by the ocean,
but here I sit and marvel at the passing of a century.
About the author
Angela Acosta (she/her) is a bilingual Latina poet who holds a Ph.D. in Iberian Studies from Ohio State University. Her work has appeared in Panochazine, Pluma, Toyon Literary Magazine, and The Acentos Review. Her creative and academic work centers on imagining possible worlds and preserving the cultural legacies of women writers. She is author of the Elgin nominated speculative poetry collection Summoning Space Travelers (Hiraeth Publishing, 2022) and forthcoming chapbook, Fourth Generation Chicana Unicorn (Dancing Girl Press, 2023).