Spanish poet Pureza Canelo articulates her early poetics in "Celda verde (1971), "Lugar comun (1971), "El barco de agua (1974), and "Habitable (1978). In all of these, she proclaims an irrevocable breach between nature and the word, yet struggles unceasingly to discover a point of intersection between them. This goal allies her with the poets of Spain's symbolist past, who acknowledge the insufficiency of language while pursuing elusive meaning. Canelo's poetry advances their struggle since, through a method ecofeminist Carol Bigwood has called "nonlinguistic silent presencing," she is able to finesse an apparent fusion between nature and language. This book also traces Canelo's identity search through the abovementioned volumes, in which she establishes her literary goals, defends her semiotic style, and confronts multiple representatives of Spain's literary tradition. With "Habitable, which the poet herself refers to as her "first poetics," she articulates her individual purpose as a writer. Although she appropriates words as tools and dwells in poetry for a time, she ultimately cleaves to the natural realm and, in particular, to her own physical being. In spite of her distinct metapoetic bent, Canelo remains a poet of experience.