Blanca Andreu's sparse but striking oeuvre has made her a key figure in recent Spanish poetry, especially among the so-called postnovísimos (those after the "very new ones"), the wave of young poets whose work began to be published in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Andreu has been the object of public notoriety for her provocative themes and daring imagery; she has also been the recipient of critical accolades for a sophisticated poetic style that belies her years and for a depth of vision that reconnects with the Spanish mystic tradition. The emotional nakedness and intensity of her voice signal a new intimacy in Spanish poetry, after the highly refined and somewhat depersonalized aesthetics favored by the novísimos (very new ones), the poets immediately preceding Andreu's generation. Yet her poetry transcends the expression of personal feelings and concerns, for it represents a larger vision...