La poeta con más talento de su generación, como la definió Paul Éluard, la francesa Valentine Penrose (1898-1978) ha sido sin embargo olvidada por la gran mayoría de antologías del movimiento surrealista. Con una obra poética verdaderamente original, cargada de referentes mágicos y esotéricos, femeninos y naturales, de gran sensualidad y erotismo netamente lésbico, Penrose ha sido acaso más conocida por su novela La condesa sangrienta, basada en la historia real de Erzsébet Báthory. Wunderkammer edita por primera vez en castellano su obra literaria completa en verso y prosa. Si hasta ahora era conocida por ser la primera esposa de Roland Penrose y por su amistad con Éluard, Picasso, Max Ernst, Óscar Domínguez o Man Ray, esta edición deberá contribuir a que su voz ocupe por fin el lugar de honor que le corresponde por méritos propios
Author
Valentine Penrose (née Boué; 1 January 1898 – 7 August 1978), was a French surrealist poet, author and collagist. Valentine Penrose wrote surrealist poetry, although she is perhaps best known for her biography of the serial killer Elizabeth Báthory (1560-1614). Her poetry reflects her experience of automatic writing, collage and painting techniques such as Max Ernst’s frottage and Wolfgang Paalen’s fumage. Penrose was interested in female mysticism, alchemy and the occult. She met Count Galarza Santa Clara in Egypt, a master of the esoteric, and made several visits to his ashram in India. In 1936 she made an extended visit to India with the poet and painter Alice Paalen (later Alice Rahon). They become very close and their relationship is shown in their poetry from 1936 to about 1945. From 1937 she started writing on lesbianism, always with the same lovers: Emily and Rubia. This dominates Martha's Opéra (1945), and Dons des Féminines (1951). Penrose's work was admired by Paul Eluard, who wrote prefaces for Herbe à la lune (1935) and Dons des féminines (1951). She also knew the surrealist poet André Breton. Penrose made surrealist collages. Dons des Féminines (1951) combines her collages and poetry.
