To the North / Al norte: Poems

To the North / Al norte is a book of poetry written by the Nicaraguan poet Leon Salvatierra. The work reflects on countless stories of the Central American diaspora that emerged from the civil wars in the 1980s. The underlying arc is the experiences, memories, visions, and dreams of a 15-year-old boy from Nicaragua, who embarked on a journey to the United States, together with a group of 40 other migrants from Central America. Despite being undocumented for 11 years, he establishes himself in this country becoming a naturalized American citizen with a university education. Salvatierra mixes lyrical and prose poems to explore the experience of exile and the search for his own space in a new country and language. His powerful metaphors and fresh images inhabit spaces fraught with violence, anxiety, and vulnerability that undocumented Central American migrants commonly live through in their transnational journey. His vivid and first-hand memories of Nicaragua tie the personal experiences of his poetic subjects with the geopolitical history between the Central American region and the United States.