Chiapas Maya Awakening: Contemporary Poems and Short Stories is a multilingual (English/Spanish/Tseltal/Tsotsil) collection of short stories and poems from Chiapas, Mexico. As the title suggests, this anthology follows a number of recent texts published with the goal of celebrating the work of writers in indigenous languages. Chiapas Maya Awakening features the work of three Tseltal writers (Adriana López, Juan Julián Cruz Cruz, and Alberto Gómez Pérez) and six Tsotsil writers (María Concepción Bautista Vázquez, Manuel Bolom Pale, Angelina Díaz Ruiz, Ruperta Bautista Vázquez, Andrés López Díaz, and Miguel Ruiz Gómez). The collection was translated into English by Sean S. Sell with a foreword by Marceal Méndez and an introduction by Inés Hernández-Ávila. In addition to the poems and short stories, the anthology also contains original artwork by María Concepción Bautista Vázquez, Roberto Antonio López de la Cruz, José Osvaldo García Muñoz, and José Carlos de la Cruz.
The majority of the material in Chiapas Maya Awakening was first published in a 2011 Spanish/Tsotsil/Tseltal version, Ma'yuk sti'ilal xch'inch'unel k'inal: Silencio sin frontera, edited by Nicolás Huet Bautista (also a co-editor of the present edition). These poems and short stories were produced during the 2007 seminar at the State Center for Indigenous Languages, Art, and Literature (CELALI) in Chiapas. The poems by Ruperta Bautista Vázquez are new to the English version. The English translation of these works by Sell is a welcome addition for those interested in indigenous-language literature, but unfamiliar with Spanish, Tsotsil, or Tseltal.
In the introduction, Inés Hernández-Ávila discusses the organization that fostered the work of these authors (CELALI) and the indigenous language literary renaissance in Chiapas as well as in other parts of the Maya world such as Guatemala and the Yucatán peninsula. Hernández-Ávila's section on "The Writers of Chiapas" offers a brief introduction to the work of each author featured in the collection. Though her discussion of each contributor varies, she touches on working methods, content, process, context, and philosophy. Her introduction is integral to the collection as it provides the context needed to understand the work of these writers for those unfamiliar with Maya cultures of Chiapas.
Those familiar with Tsotsil and/or Tseltal or who are interested in translation will appreciate the extensive translator's note which follows Hernández-Ávila's introduction. In it, Sell discusses his philosophy for translation, which "seek[s] to emphasize the Tsotsil or Tseltal nature of the poem or story and its cultural context," while ensuring that the English translation "feel[s] natural and pleasing," yet not too natural (21). The Spanish translations were created by the authors themselves (sometimes first written in Spanish, and later in Tsotsil or Tseltal, depending on the preference of the author) and Sell relied on both versions to make his translations into English.
Following the introductory material, the book is divided into two parts; the first features poetry and the second features short stories. Both of these sections begin with a brief introduction in English followed by a Spanish translation. The poems and short stories appear first in Tsotsil or Tseltal, followed by a Spanish and English translation, respectively. Explanatory material is kept to a minimum with a few footnotes to explain concepts or words that Sell decided to leave untranslated. The English translations by Sell read smoothly while retaining some peculiar phrasing, surely a result of his desire to highlight the "Tsotsil or Tseltal origins of these texts" (21). The second section is followed by a brief glossary which is followed by biographies of the contributors in both English and Spanish.
This book will be of interest to folklorists, anthropologists, students and scholars of Indigenous languages and literatures, and students and scholars of comparative literature. It would make an excellent text for an introductory course in Indigenous literatures. Several of the pieces would be of interest to those in Latino/a studies and Border studies, especially Ruiz Gómez's "In the Middle of the Desert." The book is very accessible and would be of interest to a non-specialist audience as well.
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[Review length: 661 words • Review posted on February 8, 2018]