"Sor Juana reveals an exquisite alchemy-the provocative life and death of the baroque master, but also the speaker's own 'inherited trauma' as 'a child of [a] dictatorship, ' which follows her into exile, prompting: 'This is the heart of the wound.' The artistry here is replete with skill and grace. 'History wedges itself / inside four syllables'-the thesis of this breathtaking book-length poem."

Francisco Aragón

Final Judge, Alta California Prize