The poetry that nests among sunken ships will be the focus of Panamanian poet Alessandra Monterrey.

A literary residency in Galicia, Spain, will allow Panamanian poet Alessandra Monterrey to complete her poetry book project, which seeks to lyrically connect with the world of abandoned ships and vessels in marine cemeteries.

Shipwrecked Species is the project for which Monterrey (Panama, 1989) was selected for the 1863 Literary Residency in A Coruña, an official announcement at the Panama International Book Fair by the jury, made up of the Galician poet Yolanda Castaño, the director of the Spanish Cultural Center, Elena González, and the president of the Panamanian Book Chamber (CAPALI), Orit Btesh.

The 1863 Literary Residency, a program founded and directed by Castaño in 2019, is a creative retreat for writers and translators , located in the "historical heart" of A Coruña, Galicia.

An 1863 apartment in which "everything is designed to encourage creativity," hosting stays of around four weeks in which the author can delve deeper into his writing work, "combining introspective concentration on his work with eventual immersion in the rich and stimulating cultural, landscape, and human life of the city of Hercules."

"I am the first Panamanian to experience this at the 1863 Literary Residency. I am immensely happy with this opportunity and thrilled that my proposal competed and was selected," said Monterrey.

Winner of the 2021 Ricardo Miró National Literature Prize in the poetry section for her book "The Woman Who Cried Ants." The poet stated that she is ready for this literary retreat: "I know my creative process, and the conditions offered by this literary residency allow me to take full advantage of this experience." However, she stated, she hasn't yet thought about "packing my bags."

As part of the jury, Castaño said that they were very struck by the title of this proposal , Especies Náufragas , something that, he emphasized, "not only demonstrated literary quality, but originality, and what was even more difficult, Panamanian identity : How can we combine that originality today and still have a Panamanian character?"

"She thus became the first beneficiary of this residency for emerging authors from Panama at our residence, and we will welcome her with open arms next October," Castaño said.

Castaño values ​​a residency as " a boost during the creative process itself , providing the space, time and conditions for someone to carry out that creative work, full of stimuli, but also with the time dedicated to that inspired concentration."

An active cultural promoter, Castaño (Santiago de Compostela, 1977) has had her work translated into more than fifteen languages ​​and has been awarded, among others, the Spanish Critics' Prize in 1999, the Espiral Maior Prize in 2007, the Ojo Crítico Prize in 2009, and the most recent Miguel González Garcés Prize in 2022 and the 2023 National Poetry Prize for her work Materia .

In the project report for the literary scholarship application, presented with the "provisional title" of Shipwrecked Species , Monterrey defines this project as "any sunken, half-sunken or stranded ship, or naval artifact that is in imminent danger of sinking, or any part or rigging, such as anchors, chains and others, that have been abandoned," a term she learned in her work as a lawyer at the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP).

The Panamanian poet speaks of the ship graveyard as "another place for the bones of an organism because everything is alive (...) The intersection between biology and mechanics . The beauty of the apparently prosaic."

Hence, he recognizes this maritime term and the photographs of several ship cemeteries as the "triggers for the production of the imagery of this collection of poems from the conscious level," detailing how he glimpses the lyrical connection with his proposal that is in the "stage of construction of its sensory universe."

"Those two triggers are what begin to build the atmosphere of this project, which is currently still in the research phase, drawing on sensorial experiences . I know that being there in Galicia will greatly nourish it," said the Panamanian poet, who views this literary scholarship as a "great gift."

"A great gift," she continues, "it's a great gift to be able to be calm, to write calmly, to be able to nourish myself, to be able to fully enjoy this rich process of research, of absorbing (...) Because I am very porous to the environment in which I am."

She confesses that she is "anxious" to see "what this paper creature, this little paper boat, is going to turn out to be , because yes, I think that's what sums up this project: a little paper boat."