Description
Our discussion, which will be full of examples and snippets of delightful work in translation, will illuminate how reading the poetry of the Maya, both ancient and contemporary, can cleanse our eyes and refresh our relationship with language. We’ll begin with the ancient Mayan creation epic, The Popol Vuh, and then vault forward into the 20th century to the work of Humberto Ak’abal, an indigenous K’iche’ writer from the highlands of Guatemala. We’ll also briefly visit the work of Robin Wall Kimmerer to highlight how language rooted in place can introduce new ways of seeing.
About Michael Bazzett
Michael Bazzett is the author of four books of poetry, including The Echo Chamber (Milkweed Editions, 2021) and the chapbook The Temple (Bull City, 2020). Recent work has appeared in Granta, Agni, The American Poetry Review, The Sun, The Nation, and The Paris Review. His verse translation of the Mayan creation epic, The Popol Vuh (Milkweed, 2018), was named one of 2018’s best books of poetry by The New York Times, and his translation of the selected poems of Humberto Ak’abal, If Today Were Tomorrow, is forthcoming from Milkweed. The recipient of an NEA Fellowship, he lives in Minneapolis.
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