Isabel del Rio

Isabel del Rio is a British-Spanish poet,

fiction writer, translator and journalist

(Image: Isabel in her study in 2023, with a portrait of her hero Christopher Hitchens in the background, by IdR)

Born in the aftershocks of the Spanish Civil War, Isabel was raised in London, where she has lived most of her life.

She is a published writer, and writes poetry and fiction in both English and Spanish: Spanish is her language of nostalgia, memory and exile; English is her language of freedom, action and dissent.

As a linguist, she has worked for the United Nations and other international organisations. She has extensive experience in several language-related fields, including literary translation.

As a journalist, she has worked for the BBC World Service and several media in both the UK and Spain.

For further information, check the subsections under 'About'.

You can read some of Isabel's fiction here', including: Golden Gate Bridge, about self-immolation; The Third of Death, about death in the bullring; Sepharad, about death as imposed by the Inquisition; A very cold case, about a ritual killing in the Stone Age; Paisaje y batalla, about the war that never ceases to erupt, regardless of time and place; La pesadilla del dinero, a living nightmare on the subject of loss; and Antonio, en otra vida, a story about unrequited love.

You can also read some of her poems, from several of her English and Spanish poetry collections, including Ah, Memory - ah la memoria, a poem written in both languages.