Traducción comentada de tres poemas de Anna Wickham

Abstract

Sobre la autora Edith Alice Mary Harper, mayormente reconocida como Anna Wickham poeta y escritora, nació en 1883 en Londres y desarrolló sus obras en medio de un contexto social marcado por normas y jerarquías profundamente desiguales. A comienzos del siglo XX, Inglaterra vivía un periodo en el que las mujeres empezaban a reclamar voz y espacio, desafiando los modelos que las reducían a ser esposas, madres y cuidadoras del hogar. Sin embargo, la literatura y la política seguían siendo espacios dominados por hombres, lo que obligaba a muchas escritoras a ocultar su identidad para ser leídas y respetadas. En 1911, publicó su primera colección denominada Songs by John Oland, bajo un seudónimo masculino. Lo cual revela las barreras que enfrentaban las mujeres en los círculos literarios británicos en un sistema que las invisibilizaba y privilegiaba las voces de los hombres. Sin embargo, en 1921 Wickham adopta de forma definitiva su identidad literaria al publicar el volumen The Contemplative Quarry and The Man with a Hammer, marcando un punto clave en su trayectoria, colecciones que incluyen tres poemas esenciales: “The Affinity”, “Nervous Prostration” y “The Revolt of Wives”. Su estilo de escritura toma como referencia el modernismo británico con fuertes influencias del feminismo temprano, caracterizado por el uso de una voz directa, a través de versos contundentes, combina ironía y fuerza emocional para cuestionar el matrimonio, la sumisión femenina y las normas impuestas por la moral victoriana.

About the author Edith Alice Mary Harper, better known as Anna Wickham, poet and writer, was born in London in 1883 and developed her work in a social context marked by deeply unequal norms and hierarchies. At the beginning of the 20th century, England was experiencing a period in which women were beginning to demand a voice and space, challenging the models that reduced them to being wives, mothers, and homemakers. However, literature and politics remained male-dominated spaces, forcing many women writers to hide their identities in order to be read and respected. In 1911, she published her first collection, Songs by John Oland, under a male pseudonym. This reveals the barriers women faced in British literary circles in a system that made them invisible and privileged the voices of men. However, in 1921, Wickham definitively adopted her literary identity by publishing the volume The Contemplative Quarry and The Man with a Hammer, marking a key point in her career. These collections include three essential poems: “The Affinity,” “Nervous Prostration,” and “The Revolt of Wives.” Her writing style draws on British modernism with strong influences from early feminism, characterized by the use of a direct voice through forceful verses, combining irony and emotional force to question marriage, female submission, and imposed norms. Her writing style draws on British modernism with strong influences from early feminism, characterized by the use of a direct voice through powerful verses, combining irony and emotional force to question marriage, female submission, and the norms imposed by Victorian morality.