Jacinta Escudos, born in

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

, is a writer whose body of work includes

novels A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of '' ...

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

and

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

Life

Escudos was born on 1 September 1961. She writes

creative nonfiction Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts ...

, and journalistic chronicles that have been published in such Central American daily outlets as ''

La Nación ''La Nación'' () is an Argentine daily newspaper. As the country's leading conservative newspaper, ''La Nación''s main competitor is the more liberal ''Clarín (Argentine newspaper), Clarín''. It is regarded as a newspaper of record for Argen ...

'', ''

La Prensa Gráfica ''La Prensa Gráfica'', commonly known as ''La Prensa'', is a daily newspaper published in El Salvador by Grupo Dutriz. ''La Prensa'' is a mainstream metropolitan newspaper, and became one of the first newspapers to print in color in Central Am ...

'' and ''

El Nuevo Diario ''El Nuevo Diario'' was a Nicaraguan newspaper, with offices in the capital Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central Ame ...

''. While she primarily writes in Spanish, she is fluent in English, German, and French, having worked as a translator for several years. She has lived in several European and Central American countries. In the late 1980s she was a strong supporter of the freedom fighters in El Salvador who was living in Germany. Some of her writing that she had written for a friend in East Germany was given to the Nicaraguan poet

Claribel Alegría Clara Isabel Alegría Vides (May 12, 1924 – January 25, 2018), also known by her pseudonym Claribel Alegría, was a Nicaraguan-Salvadoran poet, essayist, novelist, and journalist who was a major voice in the literature of contemporary Central ...

. Alegria was told that it was by a dead fighter in El Salvador. The writing was in fact part of Escudos's poem "to come back". Alegria had the work published under the name Rocio America. Escudos discovered the mistake when she returned from Germany to South America and again began writing. Her novel, ''A-B-Sudario'' (

Alfaguara Alfaguara is a Spanish-language publishing house that serves markets in Hispanic America, Spain and the United States. It was founded by the Spanish writer and Nobel Prize winner Camilo José Cela. History and profile Alfaguara was establishe ...

, 2003), was awarded the Mario Monteforte Toledo Central American Prize for Fiction (''Premio Centroamericano de Novela Mario Monteforte Toledo''). She has also received residencies by ''La Maison des Écrivains Étrangers et des Traducteurs'' in

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and ''Heinrich Böll Haus'' in Langenbroich,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Despite the limited literary circulation in Central America, some of Escudos's unpublished work has been recognized. In 2002, Escudos won a national contest in El Salvador, the Tenth Annual Literary Contest of Ahuachapán (''Décimos Juegos Florales de Ahuachapán'') for her book, ''Crónicas para sentimentales''

Publications

Escudos's notable literary enterprises include: * ''Crónicas para sentimentales'' (F&G Editores, 2010) * ''El Diablo sabe mi nombre'' (Uruk editores, 2008) * ''A-B-Sudario'' (Alfaguara, 2003) * ''Felicidad doméstica y otras cosas aterradoras'' (Editorial X, 2002) * ''El Desencanto'' (Dirección de Publicaciones e Impresos, 2001) * ''Cuentos Sucios'' (Dirección de Publicaciones e Impresos, 1997) * ''Contra-corriente'' (UCA Editores, 1993) * ''Apuntes de una historia de amor que no fue'' (UCA Editores, 1987) Her work, in addition, has been featured in the following collections: * ''Idea crónica: Literatura de no ficción iberoamericana'' (Fundación TyPA, 2006) * ''El Milagrero/Der Wundertäter'' (DTV, 2006) * ''Literaturas centroamericanas hoy'' (Iberoamericana/Vervuert Verlag, 2005) * ''Antología de cuentistas salvadoreñas'' (UCA Editores, 2004) * '' Cicatrices: un retrato del cuento centroamericano'' (Anamá Ediciones, 2004) * ''Pequeñas resistencias 2: Antología del cuento centroamericano contemporáneo'' (Páginas de Espuma, 2003) * ''Um etwas Zeit zu retten: Literatur und Kunst im Heinrich-Böll-Haus Langenbroich'' (Heinrich Böll Stiftung, 2003) * ''Papayas und Bananen: Erotische und andere Erzählungen aus Zentralamerika'' (Brandes & Apsel Verlag, 2002) * ''Los centroamericanos: (Antología de cuentos)'' (Alfaguara, 2002) * ''Cuentos centroamericanos'' (Editorial Andrés Bello, 2000) * ''Cuentistas hispanoamericanas: Antología'' (Literal Books, 1996) * ''And We Sold the Rain: Contemporary Fiction from Central America'' (Seven Stories Press, 1996, 2nd Edition

988 Year 988 ( CMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Fall – Emperor Basil II, supported by a contingent of 6,000 Varangians (the future Varangian Guard), organiz ...

* ''Lovers and Comrades: Women's Resistance Poetry from Central America'' (

The Women's Press The Women's Press was a feminist publishing company established in London in 1977. Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, The Women's Press was a highly visible presence, publishing feminist literature. Founding In 1977, Stephanie Dowrick cofo ...

, 1989) * ''You Can't Drown the Fire: Latin American Women Writing in Exile'' (Cleis Press, 1988) * ''Ixok Amar-Go: Central American Women's Poetry for Peace/Poesia de mujeres centroamericanas por la paz'' (Granite Press, 1987)

References

External links

Jacintario (Official Author's Blog)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Escudos, Jacinta 1961 births Living people People from San Salvador Salvadoran translators Salvadoran poets Salvadoran novelists Salvadoran journalists Salvadoran women essayists Salvadoran women poets Salvadoran women short story writers Salvadoran women journalists 20th-century translators 20th-century short story writers 20th-century Salvadoran writers 21st-century Salvadoran writers 20th-century Salvadoran women writers 21st-century Salvadoran women writers Women novelists English–Spanish translators French–Spanish translators German–Spanish translators