Popol Vuh: A Retelling

Description

The archetypal creation story of Latin America, the Popol Vuh began as a Maya oral tradition millennia ago. In the mid-sixteenth century, as indigenous cultures across the continent were being threatened with destruction by European conquest and Christianity, it was written down in verse by members of the K'iche' nobility in what is today Guatemala. In 1701, that text was translated into Spanish by a Dominican friar and ethnographer before vanishing mysteriously. Cosmic in scope and yet intimately human, the Popol Vuh offers invaluable insight into the Maya way of life before being decimated by colonisation - their code of ethics, their views on death and the afterlife, and their devotion to passion, courage, and the natural world. It tells the story of how the world was created in a series of rehearsals that included wooden dummies, demi-gods, and eventually humans. It describes the underworld, Xibalba - a place as harrowing as Dante's hell -and relates the legend of the ultimate king, who, in the face of tragedy, became a spirit that accompanies his people in their struggle for survival. Popol Vuh: An Illustrated Retelling is a one-of-a-kind prose rendition of this classic that is as seminal as the Bible and the Quran, the Ramayana and the Odyssey. Award-winning scholar of Latin American literature Ilan Stavans brings a fresh creative energy to the Popol Vuh, giving a new generation of readers the opportunity to connect with this timeless story and with the plight of the indigenous people of the Americas.

About the Author: Ilan Stavans is the publisher of Restless Books and the Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities and Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College. His books include On Borrowed Words, Spanglish, Dictionary Days, The Disappearance, and A Critic's Journey. He has edited The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature, the three-volume set Isaac Bashevis Singer: Collected Stories, The Poetry of Pablo Neruda, among dozens of other volumes. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, Chile's Presidential Medal, the International Latino Book Award, and the Jewish Book Award. Stavans's work, translated into twenty languages, has been adapted to the stage and screen. A cofounder of the Great Books Summer Program at Amherst, Stanford, Chicago, Oxford, and Dublin, he is the host of the NPR podcast "In Contrast." About the Illustrator: London based Salvadoran artist and illustrator Gabriela Larios received her Master of Arts from Camberwell College of Arts, UK in 2007 thanks to an Alban Scholarship. She creates whimsical and colourful collage illustrations that celebrate her deep love of children's books, textiles and folk art. Her creative world derives from her interest in storytelling and the natural world. There is a naive and playful spirit captured in her work and a strong connection between memories of her childhood in El Salvador and her body of work: tortoises, fish, plants, birds and all the colourful creatures and elements found in her art. Her work has been exhibited in London, Europe and abroad and has appeared in various international books and magazines.

"Salvadoran illustrator Larios provides lush images to accompany stories of the Earth and the underworld, Xibalba, and the animals and gods that inhabit them.... A beautiful interpretation of pivotal Central American history told through contemporary illustration and language." * Kirkus Reviews * "The Popol Vuh is widely considered the Maya Bible, transmitted through three millennia, and in this exquisitely illustrated volume, Latin American literature scholar Stavans reimagines what is also known as the Mayan K'iche' people's text of creation. A roster of characters-the deities, lords, idols, white men, and K'iche' people, as well as the animals, such as jaguar, vampire bat, centipede, and coyote in the book's frontispiece-are helpful markers through this mystical, mythical landscape." * The National Book Review * "Gripping and redolent from start to finish... Stavans's style is both colloquial and subtly elevated. The same is true of Larios's splendid illustrations, which would be worth the purchase price on their own.... Stavans and Larios have together done a service to... the English-speaking world by re-fashioning this rich and fascinating myth into an accessible and beautiful English-language volume to treasure." * Blogcritics * "The enchanting illustrations stimulate the imagination, with the vibrant hues and rhythmic composition delightfully complementing these exciting tales of gods and heroes." -- Grace Rajendran * Shelf Awareness *