An inspired and urgent prose retelling of the Maya myth of creation by
acclaimed Latin American author and scholar Ilan Stavans, gorgeously
illustrated by Salvadoran folk artist Gabriela Larios and introduced by
renowned author, diplomat, and environmental activist Homero Aridjis.
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
colonization--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: A Retelling is a one-of-a-kind prose rendition of this
sacred text that is as seminal as the Bible and the Qur'an, 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.
