Gioconda Belli is a Nicaraguan poet, writer and political activist. She was involved in the Nicaraguan Revolution from a very young age and occupied important positions in the Sandinista Party and in the revolutionary government. She left the Sandinista Party in 1993 after Daniel Ortega’s turned it into his fiefdom and is today one of the most notable critics of his government.  She’s written six novels, a memoir, six books of poetry and two children’s books, aside from essays and political commentary, and she has been awarded many prizes and honors for her work.  She lives in Los Angeles and Managua.