Translated by Celeste Kostopulos-Cooperman. Composed during the time of isolation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Marjorie Agosín's bilingual book of poetry, Beyond the Time of Words/Más allá del tiempo de las palabras, embraces that darkness with profound compassion and humanity. Born in Chile, Agosín came to the United States as a political exile, and her prolific career has been inspired by both political activism and the pursuit of social justice. While bearing witness to our collective grief, these poems also offer reminders of bravery and ultimately hope: They are meant, the poet says, "to cleanse and mend the world."
Marjorie Agosín (1955-2025) was a Chilean American poet who wrote in Spanish, her native language. She was also a human rights activist and the Andrew Mellon professor of the Humanities at Wellesley College. Her work was inspired by the causes of social justice and human rights. In addition to her numerous collections of poetry, Agosín wrote young-adult novels, memoirs, and anthologies promoting international women writers. Among her many distinctions, she was honored by the American Library Association with the Pura Belpre Award for her novel I Lived on Butterfly Hill. She also received the Gabriela Mistral Medal, the Chilean government's Medal of Honor for Lifetime Achievement, a Fulbright fellowship, the Jasper Whiting award for travel, and the United Nations Leadership Award for Human Rights.
