Winter 2012

Table of Contents - Vol. VIII, No. 4

 

Poetry    Translations    Fiction    Non-fiction    Reviews   

Jonathan Harrington

 

Translator's Introduction

The three poets who appear here—Briceida Cuevas Cob, Feliciano Sánchez  Chan, and Isaac Esau Carrillo Can—all write in the contemporary Yucatec Mayan language.  Their work illustrates some of the diversity to be found in poetry written in Mayan.  The Mayan language is by no means dead.  Some sources report that it is still spoken by an estimated six to seven million people in southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and parts of Honduras and El Salvador.  Though written in the modern version of an ancient language, these poems are as contemporary as any poetry written in any language in the world.  The Maya in these poems are not part of a civilization that has “mysteriously disappeared.”   They are the living, breathing inhabitants of the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico today with all their hopes and heartbreaks, aspirations and disappointments.  All three write originally in the Mayan language and make their own translations into Spanish.  All three poets have published bilingual books of their poems in Mayan and in Spanish. 
These three poets write in very different styles and with distinct concerns.  In the work of Briceida Cuevas Cob you will not find ruined ancient cities, myths, gods, human sacrifices, shamans, end of the world prophesies—the stuff of the Yucatan Tourist Board and New Age seekers. Her subject matter is people, and her poetry represents the living Maya as they truly are: loquacious, joking, down-to-earth, sensual, devout, in awe of nature, and gentle.  The poems frequently employ word play, double meaning, and sexual innuendo. The images come directly from Briceida´s world of the Maya village, but the emotions expressed are universal.
Feliciano Sánchez Chan, on the other hand, tends to write about the natural world.  Animals, plants, trees, water, stone, the stars, the moon, and the sun all come alive in his metaphorical (and often fable like) renderings of the natural environment of Yucatan. The translations that follow are from Feliciano´s book Ukp’eel wayak/Siete Sueños.
The poetry of Isaac Esau Carrillo Can could almost be seen as a perfect fusion of the two styles mentioned above: the naturalistic style (Sánchez Chan) and the humanistic (Cuevas Cob).  Carrillo Can’s work also contains images from nature.

Briceida Cuevas Cob, translated by Jonathan Harrington
Your Mother/Tu madre/A na’
Night of the Eclipse/Noche de eclipse/U áak’abil tu chibil uj

Feliciano Sánchez Chan, translated by Jonathan Harrington
Maria/María /X-Maruch
My Village/Mi pueblo/In kaajal

Isaac Esau Carrillo Can, translated by Jonathan Harrington
To Scare Away Fear/Ahuyentar el miedo/I’ixtaj saajkil
I Am the One Who Loves You/Soy quien te ama/Teen máax yaabilmech

© Jonathan Harrington

            

Poetry    Translations    Fiction    Non-fiction    Reviews