William González Guevara (Nicaragua/Spain)

Born in 2000, is a poet, Hispanic philologist and cultural journalist. He has forged his journalistic facet in the culture section of ABC. He uncovered ‘La mayor falsificación de la historia de la poesía’, a literary fraud of international proportions that made both Harvard University and Arizona State University rectify. His research was awarded the XXVI Francisco Valdés National Journalism Award (Student Category) and he was a finalist for the IV Vargas Llosa Chair Young Journalism Prize.

He has published the poetry collections Los nadies (2022), Me duele respirar (2023), Inmigrantes de segunda (XXXVIII Hiperión Poetry Award) and Esta será mi venganza (2024). He was recognised in 2023 with the Community of Madrid Young Talent Award for his poetic commitment and for giving visibility to those on the margins of society. His poems have been translated into English, French, Italian and Greek and he is considered by critics to be one of the leading young figures in Spanish-language poetry.

Insurance Against Autocracy

Beware those who attack the word,
those who brand poetry subversive
to banish it, to eradicate it.
Proceed with caution because that is where
books are banned and breathing
is punished. Reading is breathing.
Never forget that literature is graced
with immortality. Know that death is inevitable,
departure from this cruel, satanic, antibiblical
world, but do not forget
that poets (pursuers of knowledge)
outlive time. Poetic feelings
grow vital, permanent. The intended message
grows stronger. I give you three pieces of advice.
Perhaps you will use them when you least expect
if autocracy floods your borders. First,
do not dismiss reason. Second,
understanding and listening
are fountains of empathy.
Third, write because
writing is a way to speak with your other self.
Try not to lose heart,
the bedrock of the human condition.
Do not suffer, my friend. If you stumble,
lean on poetry. Read and feel.
Nurture freedom, valuable pillar.
Annihilation, end of autocracy.

Translated by Stacey Alba Skar-Hawkins