Between Sleep and Wakefulness: Agatha Portolés Unveils ‘Duermevela,’ a Liminal Poetry Debut

Chilean writer, visual artist, and goldsmith Agatha Portolés (Santiago, 1994) unveils her first poetry book, Duermevela, a lyrical logbook that maps the liminal states between sleep and wakefulness.

Structured in four chapters –Oculta estrella, Hechizos medievales, Mar oscuro and Perla chueca-, this book took shape over four years of writing and creative experimentation. Across its pages, Portolés explores dreams, memory, the body, magic, trauma, and madness, creating a symbolic universe where the intimate intertwines with the mythical and the oneiric.

“I want Duermevela to be read as a poetic, multidisciplinary journey—one that can expand into other arts—sculpture, performance, music—and open a field of experimentation around the practice of dreaming,” the author notes.

Portolés’s writing draws on her biography, family memories, and an imagination nourished by painting, classical music, and dreams. Her influences include poets such as Clarice Lispector, Robert Desnos, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Alfonsina Storni, and Allen Ginsberg.

In addition to her literary work, Portolés has developed a visual practice at the Sagrada Mercancía gallery, where she premiered an early version of Duermevela as a stainless-steel book-object accompanied by sculptural jewelry.

With Duermevela, the author invites readers to enter a space where the ephemeral and the shadowed become images that converse with memory and desire, tracing a poetic map toward unknown territories.

Agatha Portolés is a writer, visual artist, and goldsmith. In 2024 she appears in the poetry anthology Primero sueño. (2024), organized the poetry reading Entrada de las médiums (2023), serves as editor of the magazine Piedrazo, and is part of the European Union collective Voces del futuro. Duermevela is her first poetry book.

Pez espiral is a publishing house with an unconventional identity within Chile’s independent press ecosystem, featuring a wide catalog rich in art, design, and innovative titles. They care not only about literary text, but also about the book and the editorial object. As a material and visual medium, they believe in experimenting with form and giving every work they publish a unique identity. Duermevela is part of its poetry collection.

El Ciudadano