Gioconda Belli

Gioconda Belli is a Nicaraguan poet, writer and political activist. She was involved in the Nicaraguan Revolution from a very young age and occupied important positions in the Sandinista Party and in the revolutionary government. Her poetry and prose has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Biblioteca Breve award for Infinity in the Palm of her Hand and the Casa de las Americas Prize in 1978 for her poetry book Line of Fire. Her memoir, The Country Under my Skin, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2001 and she was awarded the 2018 Hermann Kesten Prize by PEN Germany for being a powerful voice for freedom of speech. She is President of PEN International, Nicaragua, a member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Letters and Chevalier des les Arts et Lettres of France.