Christopher Sawyer-Laucanno writes in his introduction to Destruction of
the Jaguar that "The Books of Chilam Balam are the only principal
surviving texts of the ancient Maya. Written in the Mayan language but
in European script, they are generally considered to be transcriptions
and recompilations from memory of material originally contained in the
hieroglyphic books, all of which were apparently destroyed by the
Spaniards. . . . As they stand now, they are a curious and fascinating
combination of prophecy, history, chronology, ritual and mythology."
Here is an English translation that captures the unparalleled beauty of
one of the great pre-Columbian masterpieces. This stirring, prophetic
poetry haunts our own times.
"The Destruction of the Jaguar is Mayan surrealism, dark with jungle
shadows and bright with macaw plumage. It is the savage song of a world
turned to dust, and in Sawyer-Laucannos voice, it echoes loud and long
for the first time in centuries."--Mark Dery, Chicago Tribune
Christopher Sawyer-Lauçanno lives in Montague, Massachusetts, with
his wife, the poet Patricia Pruitt, and their little white dog, Salty.
In 2007 he was guest writer at the first Mussoorie Writers' Festival in
India. His books include E.E. Cummings: A Biography (Methuen
Publishing, 2005) and The Continual Pilgrimage: American Writers in
Paris, 1944-1960 (City Lights, 2001).
