Reviews for Sun Unwound: Original Texts from Occupied America

The average rating for Sun Unwound: Original Texts from Occupied America based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-02-09 00:00:00 Steven Bennett It was a privelege to read ancient South American texts and poems written by guerillas and revolutionaries. The Aztec, Mayan and Inca texts plod a bit and take some figuring out but they had surprisingly relevant messages amongst the stories of Gods, sacrifices and white invaders. It was cool also to be able to read the original texts they were translated from. The guerilla poems were my favourite, as they were very powerful and emotive, with rousing messages, dedications to dead friends, love for the landscape and cool imagery and colloqualisms (for example, I didn't know gringos were also called coyotes in South America). There was even a bit of dark humour. It was also great to read a poem by the legendary Che. The contemporary poems at the end, however, I didn't get on so well with. There were great lines and great poetry, but it was very abstract and I'm not such a fan of that kind of writing, plus it went on for ages. I'm ashamed to admit I skimmed the last few pages. Nevertheless, if you find this book it won't hurt to pick it up and read it. You'll get a good education.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-11-20 00:00:00 Greg Vega I can't believe I had never read Cesar Vallejo before this. I feel humbled by my own ignorance. There are many other fantastic and surprising pieces in this collection - I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of the illustrated work by Patricia Galvao - but Vallejo is what really kicked my ass. Hats off to the translators for making his words so vivid and clear.