about the author

Idea Vilariño (1920–2009) was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, where she lived all her life. She was a poet, essayist, and literary critic who belonged to the “Generation of ’45,” an intellectual literary movement in Latin America. She was also a translator, namely one of the most celebrated Shakespeare translators into Spanish, a high school teacher, and a composer. She was born into a middle-class family, and was highly educated both in literature and music. Her published works include La suplicante, No, and Pobre mundo, among others. She has been recognized locally in Uruguay, regionally in Latin America, and internationally; her work has been translated into many languages. Vilarino’s work is marked by intimate experiences, intense and distressing, but always very coherent. Her collection, Poemas de amor, from which this translated poem originates, was dedicated to a contemporary well-known Uruguayan writer, Juan Carlos Onetti. The two had a tumultuous, on-and-off relationship. Even though they were never married or officially together, she claimed that he was the greatest love of her life. The frustration of lost love, of what could have been, resonated with me during this last year.