chants of nezahualcoyotl & obsidian glyph The long poem chants of nezahualcoyotl poeticizes the role and meaning of poetry in pre-Columbian Aztec Mexico by focusing on the greatest of Nahuatl poets, Fasting Coyote. "Obsidian Glyph" is a collection of lyric meditations on the sacred rites and poetic practices of the Aztecs in the time of the Fifth Sun. The book includes a Nahuatl pronunciation key and an extensive glossary. For a sample poem click here.

". . .próspero saíz is the poet-laureate of the pre-Columbian. . . . Chants of Nezahualcoyotl & Obsidian Glyph is filled with a terrible sense of regret and desperation. The old ways have been crowded out, massacred, buried: 'the basin of mexico a long time darkening / no longer by the misty dampness of Tlaloc / but by strange clouds / I feel but do not know / there is a burning without fire and light. . . the skin itches and the hair turns brittle.' (p. 69) . . . Saíz goes beyond lamenting about lost pre-Columbian glories into the center of pre-Columbian existentialism itself, the basic, fundamental sense of total ephemeralness. He is one of the most challenging writers to appear on the literary scene within recent memory." - Hugh Fox, The Glass Cherry

Illustrated; sewn and wrapped in French Whitewash paper cover; 7" X 10"; 88 pages

ISBN: 0-941160-13-0 (regular edition)

ISBN: 0-941160-15-7 (limited edition of 50 signed & numbered by the poet)

Books may be ordered directly from the press, or through any major book jobber or through Amazon.com. Billing to libraries only. Please inquire about costs though irmarkha@students.wisc.edu

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