When My Brother Was an Aztec

Resumen del libro

ROM THE WINNER OF THE 2021 PULITZER PRIZE IN POETRYWhen My Brother Was an Aztec is a work of courage and invention - one that foregrounds the particularities of family dynamics and individual passion against the backdrop of Western mythologies and a deeply rooted cultural history. Natalie Diaz's arresting debut explores a brother's addiction and its devastating effects on a household, while offering a political critique of our nations and their pasts. It acknowledges absences and uncomfortable silences, as well as conjuring vivid voices and presences, from Antigone and Houdini to Huitzilopochtli and Jesus.

Stolen cowboy boots, violins on fire; a mariachi band playing in the bathroom, a black bayonet carried between the shoulder blades; the beauty of busted fruit, the sight of hellish visions - Diaz both revels and reveals through her distinctive use of language and imagery, bringing to life every intimate and communal encounter, blooming abundance from scarcity. The result is a wrenching portrayal of sacrifice, want, despair and fortitude that feels truly transformative.

Biografía del autor

Nació en 1978 el poblado indio de Fort Mojave, en Needles, California. Es mojave y miembro inscrito de la comunidad india del río Gila. Se licenció en la Universidad de Old Dominion, donde recibió una beca deportiva completa. Jugó al baloncesto profesional en Europa y Asia antes de volver a Old Dominion para obtener un máster. Es autora de Postcolonial Love Poem (2020), ganadora del Premio Pulitzer, y When My Brother Was an Aztec (2012), que el crítico del New York Times Eric McHenry describió como un ambicioso... hermoso libro .