Overview
Draws on Nahua concepts to explore Nahua literary production and contributions to cultural activism from the 1980s to the present. The Serpent's Plumes analyzes contemporary Nahua cultural production, principally bilingual Nahuatl-Spanish xochitlajtoli, or ""poetry,"" written from the 1980s to the present. Adam W. Coon draws on Nahua perspectives as a decolonizing theoretical framework to argue that Nahua writers deploy unique worldviews-namely, ixtlamatilistli (""knowledge with the face,"" which highlights the value of personal experiences); yoltlajlamikilistli (""knowledge with the heart,"" which underscores the importance of affective intelligence); and tlaixpan (""that which is in front,"" which presents the past as lying ahead of a subject rather than behind). The views of ixtlamatilistli, yoltlajlamikilistli, and tlaixpan are key in Nahua struggles and effectively challenge those who attempt to marginalize Native knowledge production.
Full Product Details
Author: Adam W. Coon
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Imprint: State University of New York Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 2.50cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.599kg
ISBN: 9781438497778
ISBN 10: 1438497776
Pages: 358
Publication Date: 01 May 2024
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
""The Serpent's Plumes makes an important intervention in Indigenous literary studies as well as cultural studies Highly recommended."" — CHOICE ""Written in a luminous and engaging style, The Serpent's Plumes provides an extraordinary survey of poetry and prose works by contemporary Nahua writers in Mexico and the United States. While many readers know Nahua poetry through colonial works (such as Cantares Mexicanos), this book reminds us of the relevance of works by contemporary Nahua authors not merely as heirs to an admired literary tradition but as highly accomplished artists who bravely confront racism, discrimination, historical oblivion, and patriarchal hegemony in their work."" — David Tavárez, author of Rethinking Zapotec Time: Cosmology, Ritual, and Resistance in Colonial Mexico
"""Written in a luminous and engaging style, The Serpent's Plumes provides an extraordinary survey of poetry and prose works by contemporary Nahua writers in Mexico and the United States. While many readers know Nahua poetry through colonial works (such as Cantares Mexicanos), this book reminds us of the relevance of works by contemporary Nahua authors not merely as heirs to an admired literary tradition but as highly accomplished artists who bravely confront racism, discrimination, historical oblivion, and patriarchal hegemony in their work."" — David Tavárez, author of Rethinking Zapotec Time: Cosmology, Ritual, and Resistance in Colonial Mexico"
Author Information
Adam W. Coon is Associate Professor of Latin American Studies and Spanish at the University of Minnesota Morris.
