The Politics and Poetics of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz examines the role of occasional verse in the works of the celebrated colonial Mexican nun. The poems that Sor Juana wrote for special occasions (birthdays, funerals, religious feasts, coronations, and the like) have been considered inconsequential by literary historians; but from a socio-historical perspective, George Antony Thomas argues they hold a particular interest for scholars of colonial Latin American literature. For Thomas, these compositions establish a particular set of rhetorical strategies, which he labels the author's 'political aesthetics.' He demonstrates how this body of the famous nun's writings, previously overlooked by scholars, sheds new light on Sor Juana's interactions with individuals in colonial society and throughout the Spanish Empire.

George Antony Thomas is Assistant Professor of Spanish at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Contents: Introduction: occasional nun: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, early modern women's poetry, and the occasional mode; The wedding preacher: celebrating the Brides of Christ; The poet of empire: imperial ceremony and Imitatio Horati; The chronicler of self: flattery will get you somewhere; The court advisor: queenship and kingship in occasional works; Conclusion: the political aesthetics of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.