Casting Off / Soltando Amarras

Now in her 70s, Claribel Alegria is universally recognized as the major living poet of El Salvador. Casting Off extends the themes Alegria explored in Sorrow: the loss of a loved one, solitude, and reflections on the past. As the title implies, this collection is also a lyric farewell: "My footsteps are leading / toward quiet solitude / toward the star-silence / that has no more questions."

She is becoming increasingly well-known in the U.S. as a result of her many tours, readings, and resid...