Una voz que existe: An Analysis of Microfiction in the 21st Century

This essay studies the various themes present in the anthology of Latin American microfiction titled Una voz que existe (“One Existing Voice”) which utilizes the format of the microfiction genre to achieve individuality as well as a universality to the female experience expressed in these writings. Each of the eight authors is granted a spotlight, a single voice, to several themes that include identity crises from immigration, sexual discovery, familial abuse, the ambiguity of death, and the societal standards for women traditional, but not exclusive, to Latin American cultures. Additionally, these authors challenge and expand outside of the writing traditions of the microfiction genre established by microfiction theorists such as William Nelles and Fernando Valls in the twentieth century. In the digital age, microfiction follows the trend of delivering impactful strikes in a short, digestible format, therefore the new approaches to writing microfiction as well as the types of stories published in this format become significant to analyze as the demand for this type of literature increases.