One of the
most outstanding Mammoth Publications authors is Xánath Caraza, who now lives
Denise Low: When did you begin writing? Was
poetry always a primary genre? Why?
Xánath
Caraza: Hola,
Denise, it so nice to chat with you. I began writing when I was a young girl. As a young child, I was presented with poetry and literature. Mostly, I
need to express gratitude to my father for this and also one of my tías, my tía
Martha, my father’s sister. As a gift at my birth, my father bequeathed to me
the three volumes of Las mil y una noches.
I cherish these volumes to this day. As I pleasantly recall from my early
childhood, he used to introduce me to authors such as Lorca; he used to recite
part of “Romance Sonámbulo” for me “. .
. verde que te quiero verde. Verde viento. Verdes ramas. El barco sobre
la mar y el caballo en la montaña….” Naturally, I
didn’t have the notion this was Lorca. I just learned it
by heart. He also recited Sor Juana for me, “Hombres necios que acusáis a la mujer sin razón, sin saber que sois la
ocasión de lo mismo que culpáis y si las incitáis al mal…” and a haiku that
I also memorized early in my childhood, “A
la fuente vieja/ salta veloz la rana/ el agua suena” by Basho. As well, he acquainted me with Li Po or Li Bai and my brilliant Nahuatl
poets. Habitually, I take with me the following verses from one of
Netzahualcoyotl’s poems. It must have been from “Canto de primavera””…libro de pinturas es
tu corazón, has venido a cantar…en el interior de la casa de la primavera…” I have a good
number of books of poetry that
Denise Low: I met you at the Association of Literary Translators of America conference in 2011, where I first heard your bilingual poetry. We talked, and you sent me a manuscript, Conjuro--in Nahuatl, Spanish, and English. This became your first full-length book and first of three books with Mammoth publications. How did you develop that first book? I know there was a chapbook that came first.
Xánath
Caraza: I was
certainly happy to know that Mammoth Publications wanted to read one of my manuscripts.
I started by reading and rereading many of my poems in order to find a rhythm
for the collection. I had previously published in several literary journals,
but I had never published a full-length poetry collection. After deciding the
order of the poems, I started translating them into the English, I also had one
poem, “Mujer”, translated into the Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs by my
mother. And, I had recently met Sandra Kingery, who translated two poems in Conjuro.
DL: You celebrated Conjuro
with a wonderful Sunday dinner for Tom Weso, the Mammoth co-publisher, and me.
I see you post scrumptious food on social media. Do you find and continuity
between cooking and writing?
XC: Cooking relaxes me from my daily
routine. I love art and taking photos of the dishes I cook is another way of
creating. I’m glad you enjoy them.
DL: How many books of poetry do you
have now? I've lost count! And where can readers find them?
XC: I have sixteen books of poetry and
two short story collections. FlowerSong Press, Mammoth Publications, Mouthfeel
Press, Lobo Estepario Pandora Press, Editorial Nazarí, Spartan Press, Capítulo
Siete, and Gilgamesh Edizioni are some of my publishers where my books can be
found.
DL: What are some of the major themes
in your poetry?
XC: Between worlds, I have always lived. As a child in Mexico my borders
were linguistic and social. At an early age, I was aware of this. My mother
grew up bilingually between Spanish and Nahualt, the language of the Mexica
(Aztecs). I was also aware of the drastic division of social class in Mexico at
an early age. Currently, I live between the US and Mexico, and, again, I am a
border crosser, linguistically, physically and emotionally; therefore, place
has been always inherent in my work. For instance, Sílabas de viento / Syllables of Wind / Le Sillabe del vento, one
of my books of poetry, published in three languages—Spanish, English and
Italian—is entirely a reflection on place, México, Spain, Croatia and beyond. What’s
more, my book of poetry Donde la luz es
violeta / Where the Light is Violet is full of the light and colors of
Italy. This book I wrote in 2015 during a writer’s residence that I had the
opportunity to do in Italy that same year. Women’s voices have always been
present in my work. As a female poet, I pay attention to what other women
experience and weave those sounds into my poetry or narrative as a manner to
validate our diverse perspectives of seeing the world. Frequently, these voices
come through their own culture. As mentioned, I live between the US and Mexico
and, within each of these countries, a myriad of cultures has co-existed for
centuries. From these cultures and beyond, I want women’s voices to be
recognized and interacted with in a public sphere. For example, the title story
of my short story collection, Lo que trae
la marea / What the Tide Brings, presents the voice of a young
Afromestiza/African Mexican woman and the challenges she faces in her daily
life. In addition, my book of poetry Lágrima
roja is a lyrical document of a personal concern I have for femicides. The
social theme is constantly present in my work, Corta la piel / It Pierces
the Skin, my most recent book, is another example of my writing flowing
among the personal, political, and geographical terrains.
DL: You also have books of fiction,
which are also wonderful. How do your short stories extend your overall
narrative?
XC: I love writing short stories. I like
to think that I write with my five senses. Both my prose and poetry project
sounds, colors, aromas between the lines.
DL: What are you working on now?
XC: Among other projects I am working on
Ejercicio en la oscuridad. Ejercicio en la oscuridad is a
collection of poetry that is in the process of being translated by Sandra
Kingery’s translation class, for which I am thankful. At the same time, artist,
Tudor Şerbănescu from Romania has created images for each of the poems in this
collection.
DL: I so appreciate your legacy
of writings as well as your community activities. Thank you for this interview,
and thank you for your tireless literary citizenship!
Xánath Caraza is a traveler, educator, poet, short story writer,
and translator. She writes for La Bloga,
The Smithsonian Latino Center, Revista
Literaria Monolito, and Seattle Escribe. In 2019 for the International Latino Book Awards she
received Second Place for Hudson for “Best Book of Poetry in Spanish”
and Second Place for Metztli for Best Short Story Collection. In 2018
for the International Latino Book Awards she received First Place for Lágrima roja for “Best Book of Poetry in
Spanish by One Author” and First Place for Sin
preámbulos / Without Preamble for “Best Book of Bilingual Poetry by One
Author.” Her book of poetry Syllables of
Wind / Sílabas de viento received
the 2015 International Book Award for Poetry. She was Writer-in-Residence at
Westchester Community College, NY, 2016-2019. Caraza
was the recipient of the 2014 Beca Nebrija para Creadores, Universidad de
Alcalá de Henares in Spain. She was named number one of the 2013 Top Ten Latino
Authors by LatinoStories.com. Her
books of verse Where the Light is Violet,
Black Ink, Ocelocíhuatl, Conjuro
and her book of short fiction What the
Tide Brings have won national
and international recognition. Her other books of poetry are It Pierces the
Skin, Balamkú, Fără preambul,
Μαύρη μελάνη,
Le
sillabe del vento, Noche de colibríes,
and Corazón pintado. Caraza has been
translated into English, Italian, Romanian, and Greek; and partially translated
into Nahuatl, Portuguese, Hindi, and Turkish. For more about Xanath Caraza, see her website:
