The admiration Cristina Peri Rossi has for the art of poetry can clearly be seen in both her mastery of the form as well as the number of collections she has published. More than once, the author has claimed that the most autobiographical aspects of her work can be found within this genre. The mix between the themes of passion, love, feminism, urban solitude, exile, eroticism, and social criticism with strong, lyrical, and experimental language create an effect rarely seen in contemporary writing, earning her seven literary prizes for poetry. Peri Rossi published her first collection in 1971, in which the author expressed her erotic passion for women. Although the anthology caused great controversy upon its release, the poems go beyond what the title might suggest and explore the connections between language and desire as well as religious and sexual imagery. By 1976, Peri Rossi had released her third collection of poetry and won the Ciudad De Palma Poetry Award for Diaspora. She won another poetry award in 1992 given to her by the city of Barcelona for the collection entitled Babel Bárbara, in which the author once again speaks of eroticism in a very allegorical manner. Perhaps, Peri Rossi’s most recognizable work of poetry translated into English is Estado de exilio (State of Exile) published in 2003. Although the author wrote the collection upon her arrival to Barcelona as an exile from Uruguay, she chose not to publish it until much later, also earning her the Rafael Alberti International Prize of Poetry. Peri Rossi’s most recent collections, Habitación de hotel and Playstation, earned her two more awards, City of Torrevieja International Prize of Poetry and Loewe Foundation International Prize of Poetry (the first woman to do so), respectively. In 2005, editorial house Lumen released a complete collection of her poetry expanding over more than 700 pages, omitting only the collection called Las musas inquietantes.
1971 Evohé, Montevideo, Girón.
1974 Descripción de un naufragio, Barcelona, Lumen.
1976 Diáspora, Barcelona, Lumen.
1979 Lingüística general, Valencia, Prometeo.
1987 Europa después de la lluvia, Madrid, Banco Exterior de España.
1991 Babel Bárbara, Barcelona, Lumen.
1994 Otra vez Eros, Barcelona, Lumen.
1996 Aquella noche, Barcelona, Lumen.
1997 Inmovilidad de los Barcos, Vitoria, Bassarai.
1998 Poemas de amor y desamor, Barcelona, Plaza y Janés.
1999 Las musas inquietantes, Barcelona, Lumen.
2003 Estado de exilio, Madrid, Visor.
2004 Estrategias del deseo, Barcelona, Lumen.
2005 Poesía Reunida, Barcelona, Lumen.
2006 Mi casa es la escritura, Montevideo, Linardi y Risso Editores.
2006 Habitación de hotel, Barcelona, Plaza y Janés.
2009 Playstation, Barcelona, Visor.