Conjuro

Description

Xanath Caraza’s first book-length collection Conjuro(Spellbound)| with introduction by Fred Arroyo| is published by Mammoth Publications| a Native-owned literary press.
In this tri-lingual text| Caraza combines Spanish| English| and Nahuatl (language of the Aztecs) to create a continuous spell of verse.
Caraza’s writing derives from her awareness of Indigenous thought: words are tangible objects| not abstractions| and capable of influencing physical reality’s web of interactions.
The poet’s connection to her Indigenous and Mexican heritage energizes her meditations and proclamations| which are set in Veracruz| Spain| Paris| Chicago| and Kansas City| her present home.
Caraza is a dynamic performance poet as well as a skilled writer.
This debut collection establishes her as a major voice of 21st American letters.
This book shows how multiple cultures co-exist for United States immigrants.
It is appropriate for young adults| Latin American Studies| Indigenous American Studies| and Midwest U.S. Studies.
Xanath Caraza is a traveler| educator| poet and short story writer.
Originally from Xalapa| Veracruz| Mexico| she is a Kansas City resident.
She has an M.a.in Romance Languages.
She lectures in Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Her chapbook Corazon Pintado: Ekphrastic Poems (2012) is from TL Press.
She won the 2003 Ediciones Nuevo Espacio international short story contest in Spanish and was a 2008 finalist for the first international John Barry Award.
Caraza is an advisory circle member of the Con Tinta literary organization and a former board member of the Latino Writers Collective in Kansas City.
Rigoberto Gonzalez writes of Conjuro: “A decisively Amerindian song breathes through the pages of Xanath Caraza’s Conjuro| a charitable book of invocation| incantation| lamentation and healing.
Caraza’s poems are the antidote to our troubled times: they reach toward ancestral spirit and woman-strength| they collect wisdom from the natural and experiential landscapes| they reorient language away from duplicity and back to the “oral traditions of the heart.” A truly moving| and spellbinding| debut.”