Flight of the Quetzal
In her debut chapbook, Flight of the Quetzal, Evangeline presents a narrative of travel and self-exploration, detailing her experiences as a missionary in rural Guatemala. By interweaving scenes of present-day intercultural interactions with historical accounts of violence against Guatemala's indigenous populations, Evangeline explores the complexities of engaging with a culture and language that she will never truly know, despite her best efforts and intentions. At its core, Flight of the Quetzal is a celebration of a nation that has risen, time and time again, from the blood-washed trenches of defeat.
Book Details
- Publisher: Finishing Line Press
- Publish Date: Nov 10th, 2023
- Pages: 32
- Language: English
- Dimensions: 8.50in - 5.50in - 0.08in - 0.12lb
- EAN: 9798888384008
- Categories: • General
About the Author
Sanders, Evangeline: - Evangeline Sanders is an MFA student at the University of Alabama and a graduate of Clemson University, where she received degrees in psychology and Spanish. Her poetry has been published in several literary journals, both print and online. She teaches undergraduate English classes and serves as an Assistant Editor for the Black Warrior Review in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Praise for this book
In the best literature of travel, we find not only insightful and detailed descriptions of foreign lands and cultures, but also convincing and illuminating accounts of how the writer herself has come to better know herself, and been changed, through her experiences in that new place. In these sharp-eyed and beautifully musical poems, Evangeline Sanders evokes the complex history and rich culture of Guatemala, and also enacts, with great sensitivity and self-awareness, the fundamental ambivalence lodged in the heart of every traveler, the inescapable sense that however watchful and respectful she may be, the visitor is always an "other," always on the outside looking in. These are delightful poems, full of vigor and life-and wisdom.-Joel Brouwer
From an American English-speaking child's early lessons in Spanish to K'iche, the fallen Mayan king transformed into the color-drenched quetzal flying back into the battle; from the swirling spaces between memory and myth, Flight of the Quetzal is on a mission, literally, to find out what it means to enter another culture-its brutal histories and slippery language; its relics, terrain, water, insects, voices. Like Guatemala's Volcán de Fuego, "cocked like a musket on the shoulder of the valley," these poems are shot through with vivid detail that lays bare the price and privilege of trafficking in the "other" and managing to return, richer for the journey.-Robin Behn
From an American English-speaking child's early lessons in Spanish to K'iche, the fallen Mayan king transformed into the color-drenched quetzal flying back into the battle; from the swirling spaces between memory and myth, Flight of the Quetzal is on a mission, literally, to find out what it means to enter another culture-its brutal histories and slippery language; its relics, terrain, water, insects, voices. Like Guatemala's Volcán de Fuego, "cocked like a musket on the shoulder of the valley," these poems are shot through with vivid detail that lays bare the price and privilege of trafficking in the "other" and managing to return, richer for the journey.-Robin Behn