My Book of the Dead
For more than thirty years, Ana Castillo has been mesmerizing and inspiring readers from all over the world with her passionate and fiery poetry and prose. Now the original Xicanista is back to her first literary love, poetry, and to interrogating the social and political upheaval the world has seen over the last decade. Angry and sad, playful and wise, Castillo delves into the bitter side of our world—the environmental crisis, COVID-19, ongoing systemic racism and violence, children in detention camps, and the Trump presidency—and emerges stronger from exploring these troubling affairs of today. Drawings by Castillo created over the past five years are featured throughout the collection and further showcase her connection to her work as both a writer and a visual artist. My Book of the Dead is a remarkable collection that features a poet at the height of her craft.
Ana Castillo is a celebrated author of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and drama. Among her award-winning books are So Far from God: A Novel; The Mixquiahuala Letters; Black Dove: Mamá, Mi’jo, and Me; The Guardians: A Novel; Peel My Love Like an Onion: A Novel; Sapogonia; and Massacre of the Dreamers: Essays on Xicanisma (UNM Press). Born and raised in Chicago, Castillo resides in southern New Mexico.
Acknowledgments
Part I
A Storm upon Us
Tell Me to Live for Something
Hache ¡Presente!
The Reflection
Algo de ti (An Ekphrastic Exercise)
Something About You (An Ekphrastic Exercise)
Translation by Sylvia Mullaly with Ana Castillo
What is Your Writing Process?
When Snow Turns to Rain and It Is Still Winter
Mass Shootings (2016 to 2019 and Counting)
If I Pray
Homage to Akilah
Two Men and Me
Othering
Gotas caían en el techo
Drops Fell on the Roof
Translation by Tyehimba Jess with Ana Castillo
Everybody Wanted Everything
White Buffalo Calf Woman
Part II
How to Tell You Are Living under Rising Fascism (A Basic Primer in Progress)
Eyes, Heart, and Mind: Take Action
Soy la muxe juchiteca
I, Muxe Juchitec
Translation by Ana Castillo
P.S. Bittersweet
Whitman
Tantrum
Cat’s Mad Lick
A Francisco X.
For Francisco X.
Translation by Julieta Corpus with Ana Castillo
Fun House of Muted Desires
When Myra Had Enough
Click (Simple Present)
Insomnia
Insomnia
Translation by Sara Solaimani
Cancer Poem
Mierda
These Times
Part III
On the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Black Panther Party
Xicanisma Prophesies Post 2012: Putin’s Puppet
Detention
Lamento
Lament
Translation by Sara Solaimani with Ana Castillo
By the End of the Twenty-First Century When
A Amazônia está queimando
The Goldfish Went Missing
Florinda se fue al cielo
Florinda Went to Heaven
Translated by Ana Castillo
Pande…monium
Wednesday Night in the Boogie Down Bronx
My Book of the Dead
Notes
