He began walking the path that led to a turning point in 1972 with Ithaca, a volume of poems that marks a shift from his prior directions. He continued with three hundred steps. Published in 1977 after earning the Irun City Award, it gathered a selection of essential poems and introduced a new musicality of thought.
From there Francisca Aguirre (Alicante, 1930-Madrid, 2019) entered a period of quiet prose and reflection, a difficult stretch that lasted nearly twenty years. She reemerged with two prose titles: Let Rosa Luxemburg Do the Ironing and Mirror Mirror, both issued in 1995. After that, her literary production accelerated, earning the National Poetry Prize in 2011 and the National Award for Literature in 2018.
Exploring the depth of her writing, she confronted certain themes and redefined her role as a poet. This poem, which has informed women’s poetry since the 1980s, became the focal point of a monograph dedicated to the Alicante author. The study appeared in the Cincinnati Romance Review, associated with the Department of Romance and Arabic Languages and Literatures at the University of Cincinnati.
This scholarly work is coordinated by Maria Paz Moreno and features research from nine experts, including Manuel Valero Gómez and Jaime Siles, among others. Cecilio Alonso joins with another scholarly strand, María Teresa Navarrete, Laura Lozano Marín, and David Ferrez Gutiérrez, all backed by broader literary inquiry. Additional contributors include Raúl Molina, Antonio Cazorla Castellón, Eva María Álvarez Ramos, and Manuel Valero himself.
Valero notes that Aguirre’s output holds both popularity and critical validity, yet there are few tribute pieces in specialized and popular magazines. The monograph is presented as an opportunity to refresh longstanding questions within literary criticism and to broaden the discussion.
overcome the issues
One of the aims is to address certain persistent questions. It is common to revisit works such as Ithaca and Three Hundred Steps, while remembering Aguirre’s lineage, including her father Lorenzo Aguirre, and examining gender perspectives. The aim is to move beyond familiar interpretations, situating the author within broader contexts and offering a refreshed reading.
One of the most striking aspects of Aguirre’s figure is her moment of influence as a bridge to poets of half a century. The so-called female literary boom of the 1980s occupies a decisive position in this transition.
The monograph surveys a wide range of topics. Cecilio Alonso delves into unpublished letters; Jaime Siles analyzes a poem by Aguirre; María Teresa Navarrete examines identity and womanhood in her work; Laura Lozano expresses admiration for Aguirre’s poetry; Antonio Cazorla proposes reading the book Conversations with My Pet; and Manuel Valero analyzes the collection Itaca.
About twenty titles
Aguirre earned nearly twenty major recognitions across her career. In the final years of her life, several significant poetry collections appeared. A history of anatomy (2010) stands as her most acclaimed and representative work, earning the Miguel Hernández-Valencian Society International Poetry Prize along with the National Poetry Prize.
The bulk of her poetic output emerged in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. General Article (1996) blends poetic prose with monophonic, coherent sonnets and reveals a baroque vision of existence, while The Harbinger of Unrest (2000) signals a shift toward more restless themes.
The later volumes include Conversations with My Pet (2012) and a long illness (2018). Selections from her poems appeared in Behind the Mirrors (2011 and 2013) and Outerwear (2019), along with her complete works published in 2018.
Manuel Valero remarks that after a commercial surge, Aguirre’s figure received renewed attention through doctoral theses, final theses, and master’s projects. He notes a balance between commercial reception and scholarly investigation, though there remain questions worthy of study, such as translations of her works into Italian and editions that are not easily found in the United States.
It is also important to explore reviews and update the author’s profile in highly regarded, digitally positioned international venues, including journals established in 1981 and online since 2008. [Citations: Cincinnati Romance Review; University of Cincinnati]