Truncated praise and misleading exceptionalism. A feminist analysis of the critical reception of Magda Portal

Abstract

Magda Portal was a central writer in the Peruvian avant-garde: she directed the magazines Flechas (1924) and Hangar-Trampolín-Rascacielos-Timonel (1926-1927), published Una esperanza i el mar (1927) and belonged to the circle of Amauta. Although progress has been made in the recognition of her work, it is still common for critics to place her alongside other Peruvian women writers of the twentieth century and not as a core member of the avant-garde. The aim of this article is to postulate that Portal’s marginality stems from strategies of delegitimization on the part of literary critics. To this end, I will analyze the reception of her work along three axes: the formulation of truncated praise, the construction of the feminine margin and the double-standard critical habits.