Inundación castálida

What it is

Inundación castálida is the first printed collection of the works of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, published in Madrid in 1689. It was dedicated to María Luisa, Countess of Paredes, the Vicereine of New Spain, who had supported Sor Juana and helped arrange its publication.

Why it matters

This volume brought Sor Juana's poetry to readers across the Spanish-speaking world during her own lifetime, an unusual achievement for any writer in colonial Spanish America, let alone a woman and a nun. It shows the importance of powerful patrons like the Countess of Paredes in making a woman writer's work public, and it marks the beginning of Sor Juana's wide literary fame.

Look closer

• Why might Sor Juana have needed the support of a vicereine to get her poems published?
• What does the dedication tell you about relationships between writers and patrons at the time?
• How might publishing in Madrid, rather than Mexico, have affected who read her work?