The poem that cost him the work and birth of female journalism

When Alfonsina Storni released the poem la lobaincluded in his first book, of 1916, did not have a great initial impact on the literary world, but in his daily activity: He had to give up his office work. For his patterns, that he was a single mother could happen, but to proclaim him challenging in “scandalous” verses was too much.

Over time, Alfonsina will say that it was a “lousy book of verses. God free you, friend, of Rosal’s concern! But I wrote it so as not to die in the Office Officewhere the sun passes through the roof but I can’t see it. ”(1)

In that Argentina in the process of change, Women like Alfonsina broke the traditional mold And they felt “wolves” in front of the “flock of sheep” that, at the same time, made fun of them and feared them.

For most middle -class Argentines, life was still centered in the home.

And for many families, thanks to the improvement in the income level, The “dream of your own house” began to become a realityespecially in the twenties of the last century, with the realization of housing plans in application of the Cafferata Law approved on the end of the conservative regime, so that the growth of the neighborhoods in Buenos Aires charged new impulse.

To this contributed the expansion of urban transport, with the extension of tram lines and the incorporation of automotive transport, which in 1928 led to The appearance of the first bus lines.

In these means of transport, the female presence was no infrequent, because a growing number of women, in addition to their home work, went out to earn the salary outside their home.

Alfonsina Storni counted it like this: “If from 7 to 8 in the morning you get on a tram will be seen partly occupied by women who go to their work and who They distract their trip reading.

If a young reader carries a political magazine we can affirm that he is a factory or seamstress; If an enlightened magazine of a frankly popular, dactillographer or store employee; If the magazine is intellectual, teacher or secondary education student, and if it has negligently deployed a newspaper, do not hesitate … consumed feminist, spirit up to date; Punible Eva.

But the non -punishable evas remain calm. In the hands of morning travelers, popular magazines abound, those of love confidences. ”(2)

In addition to being more varied than that of “wolves” and “sheep”, this typology of women according to their occupation shows a characteristic phenomenon of that moment: the condition of readers. While illiteracy would remain greater among women, by then The effects of common education had been felt.

Thus emerged a “female journalism” of a commercial type, one of whose first expressions was the magazine THE HOUSEHOLDcreated in 1904 by Alberto Haynes, which became The homeone of the longest -lasting editorial successes of the Argentine press.

But the great boom began after the arrival of radicalism to the government. Atlantis Editorial launched the market For youthat in 1921 He sold, among all his editions, more than six million copies (and would exceed 24 million around 1933).

Besides, A series of publications arose that replaced the old leafletshow The weekly novelappeared between 1917 and 1926, with rolls of 200,000 copies per number. While his audience was general, it included a significant number of women.

1. Cited in Félix Luna (dir.), Alfonsina Storni, collection great protagonists of Argentine history, Planet, Buenos Aires, 1999, p. 30.

2. Tao Lao (pseudonym of Alfonsina Storni), “The perfect dactillographer”, in the column “female sketches”, La Nación, May 9, 1920.