CENTRAL AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DEAD by Balam Rodrigo translated from the Spanish by Dan Bellm

CENTRAL AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DEAD

LIBRO CENTROAMERICANO DE LOS MUERTOS

by Balam Rodrigo

Translated by Dan Bellm

A brief account of the destruction of Central American migrants, gathered by the author, of the order of poets, in the year MMXIV

Central American Book of the Dead, winning work of the Fine Arts Prize of Aguascalientes Poetry 2018, advances in an exodus that starts in the Suchiate River and ends when crossing Rio Grande. Balam Rodrigo carries out throughout these pages a testimonial poetry of a social nature that finds its roots in granting the poetic voice to the Central Americans who lived in their parents' house even before calling these assistance and support sites a shelter. The sections (each one determined by the country of origin of the migrants) that make up this memory book are, according to the jury -including Mariana Bernárdez, Jorge Fernndez Granados and scar Oliva-, a sample that "allows us to deepen our understanding of the human condition and give testimony of a vital experience that reflects the present ."

Originally published in its entirety by Fondo De Cultura Economica USA (May 16, 2018)