Catalina Clara Ramírez de Guzmán: Llerena's Academy Poet?

McLaughlin, KP (2018) Catalina Clara Ramírez de Guzmán: Llerena's Academy Poet? Bulletin of Spanish Studies, 95 (8). pp. 957-982. ISSN 1475-3820

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Abstract

This paper aims to shed further light on the life and work of the little-known author Catalina Clara Ramírez de Guzmán (1618–c.1684) by attempting to situate her production in an as yet unexplored context, namely, the tradition of literary forums and academias in her home city of Llerena and in Extremadura generally. The task is not without difficulties due to the paucity of surviving records of such circles in the region. Although there are no actual records of her participation in academies or formal competitions, a detailed consideration of Ramírez de Guzmán’s family and social background and an analysis of a broad selection of her poetry provide strong circumstantial evidence that she was familiar with, and very probably contributed to, gatherings of this nature in Llerena, which boasted a flourishing community of poets, including members of her own family. The paper contends that a sizeable portion of her poetry may have been penned for such occasions.