This article uses some concepts derived from Postmodernist theory in order to throw new light on recurrent motifs in the work of a number of contemporary Peruvian poets. The main theorists referred to are Fredric Jameson, Steven Connor, Jean François Lyotard, Guattari and Deleuze, John Beverley, and George Yúdice. Three mythological figures have been chosen to act as the “muses” of Postmodernism – the Satyr, Medusa, and Echo. Those attributes which pertain to these mythological figures are as follows:
Satyr:play/sexuality/performativity/quotidianization
Medusa:feminization/petrification/rhizome
Echo:demythification/ “petite histoire”/pastiche/collage
The three poets discussed in the light of these tropes are Antonio Cisneros (b. 1942), Carmen Ollé (b. 1947), and Arturo Corcuera (b. 1935).