Sonia Mereles Olivera, Ph.D.
Biography
I was born in Asunción, Paraguay and lived in a glass house designed by my father, an engineer. My sisters, two engineers and an international bank manager, are beautiful strong women. My mother is from Perú where we spent time making it a part of my heritage. She is an excellent singer, painter, and ceramist who won a calligraphy contest and performed “La danza del fuego”.
I won my first poetry awards in Paraguay. After graduating as an Architect, I won a prized poetry honor from Asociación Amigos del Arte before departing for Spain where I studied Literature. In Europe, I won a poetry prize for my fondest book Volviendo a Omega which includes the bilingual culture of Paraguay.
I have worked and studied with Jorge Luis Borges, Miguel Delibes, Nicanor Parra and Ernesto Cardenal. My literary criticism and research work are published under my full name. I publish my creative work under “Sonia Mereles”, my maiden name. Puros cuentos, my first book of short stories based on contemporary Paraguayan events, was presented in the Americas and Europe with high praise and is now entering its second edition. En tu mundo deshabitado, a contemporary vision of a Hispanic in the U.S., was featured by the Virginia Poetry Center to celebrate national Poetry Month. Presented in poster format and sound recording at the exhibit, it was broadcasted live in public radio both in English and Spanish.
My book ¡Cerraron las puertas!: Narremas de la Tragedia de Ycua Bolaños, a tribute to the lost voices of that national tragedy of Paraguay, was presented at the IV International Congress of the Hispanic Poetry of Europe and the Americas”. The University of British Columbia, Canada.
Award winning poet and literary critic Delfina Acosta wrote a review of my book Piel de ángel in the ABC Newspaper of Asunción, Paraguay, on 21 August 2011. An on-line excerpt may be accessed at: http://www.abc.com.py/nota/un-libro-muy-intimo-y-especial/
My literary book on Spanish American Icons: Ernesto Cardenal and Nicanor Parra is now included in the foremost critical reviews in the Americas, Europe and the Orient. I have currently been granted permission by Ernesto Cardenal to republish his magna opus Cántico Cósmico along with my current research in my latest book-lenght project The matrix of Cosmic Canticle, a philosophical anthropology of Cardenal.
I am the 2010-2011 Fulbright Scholar in Paraguay, and a 2012-2013 Fulbright Scholar Committee member. My current article in progress presents Contemporary Paraguayan Women Voices, including Guarani authors such as Susy Delgado.
My daughter is a recipient of art awards in the fine visual arts, poetry, photography, and film at the regional, district and state level. She was the youngest student accepted at the Academy of Art in Florence, Italy where she studied in 2011, at only 12 years of age. She has now been accepted to attend the Visual Arts Camp at Interlochen Arts Academy in 2012.
Please visit excerpts by clicking on "Books" and then clicking on each cover. You can also write reviews, and/or request copies at amambayeditorial@yahoo.com