Born: 4 March 1833, Colombia
Died: 22 April 1892
Country most active: Colombia
Also known as: Agripina Casimira de los Dolores, Pía-Rigán
Colombian poet Agripina Samper Agudelo wrote poetry under the pseudonym “Pía Rigán,” an anagram of her first name. Although many of her Romantic poems were published in the Bogota press, particularly in the 1860s, additional writing was discovered and studied after her death. She also wrote in prose, something that was unusual for women at the time and frowned upon by conservatives. Her work reflects Romantic ideals like the aesthetics of nature and love, but also challenges conservative values such as the surveillance of the female body.
Agudelo’s personal letters provide a fascinating insight into not only her life, but Colombian society of the 1800s during the so-called “liberal revolution.” A collection of them was published in book form, titled Pía Rigán. Letters from Agripina Samper Agudelo to Manuel Ancízar (1857-1871), by Samota Libros in 2023. In these letters, we see someone with liberal ideals and relatively little interest in public life. She was also married to writer, activist and politician Manuel Ancízar, and moved to Paris with their children after his death in 1882.