XáNATH CARAZA, Conjuro

Caraza, Xánath Conjuro (English, Spanish, Nahuatl), poems with introduction by Fred Arroyo. $18 paper 144 pp. 978-0983799566. Trilingual, award-winning book of a Nahuatl-Mexican writer who resides in Kansas City, from Aztec heritage to urban and global settings.

$17 online special, domestic postage free. Order multiple copies by repeating order or email mammothpubs@gmail.com

Listen to an audio recording of the powerful poem Yanga from Phonodia.

Xánath Caraza’s first book-length collection Conjuro(Spellbound), was awarded second place in the Best Poetry Book in Spanish category and received honorable mention in the Best First Book in Spanish, Mariposa Award category of the 2013 International Latino Book Awards. She was named number one of the 2013 Top Ten “New” Latino Authors to Watch (and Read) by LatinoStories.com. Conjuro 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 meditations 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. Xánath 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 Corazón Pintado: Ekphrastic Poems (2012) is from TL Press. Her short story collection, Lo que trae la marea/ What the Tide Brings (2013) is from Mouthfeel 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. http://xanathcaraza.webs.com/