CONJURO
Conjuro de ángeles, demonios y duendes que hacen que la Tierra se desgarre.
Que el aire gima y grite entre los árboles.
Conjuro de dioses y demonios que hace que mis pensamientos vibren
¡Oh fuerza bruta! Implacable que suena y sacude cada rincón de la Tierra.
Temblores internos, temblores externos que se hacen uno y quiebran la tierra.
Hoy te conjuro para que despiertes del letargo que te mantiene cautiva.
Hoy invoco al norte, sur, este y oeste.
Hoy te conjuro
A ti, guardiana de mi sueño.
A la canción de cuna que se oye a lo lejos.
Al origen de mi sangre, de mi vida, de mi dolor.
A la guardiana de mis noches más oscuras.
Conjuro tu nombre, aquí en mis pensamientos.
~Xánath Caraza
SPELLBOUND
Spell of angels, demons and duendes cause the Earth to tear
Make howls and screams among the trees
Spell of gods and demons unsettle my thoughts
Oh brutal strength! Unrelenting strength that resonates and shakes each corner of the Earth
Inner quakes, external quakes that unite and crack the Earth
Today I call on you to wake from the deep slumber that holds you captive
Today I invoke north, south, east and west
Today I cast a spell on you
On you, keeper of my dream
To the lullaby that is heard from afar
To the origin of my blood, of my life, of my pain
To the keeper of my darkest nights
Here in my thoughts, I put a spell on your name
~ Xánath Caraza
Xánath Caraza’s book CONJURO (English, Spanish and Nahuatl) is a bestseller for Mammoth Publications, and it received national and international awards. Mammoth will publish her Syllables of Wind/ Silabas De Viente late fall, 2014. Originally from Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico, Caraza has lived in Vermont and Kansas City. Her book of short stories, Lo que trae la marea/ What the Tide Brings (2013), is from Mouthfeel Press. Poetry chapbooks are Noche de Colibríes: Ekphrastic Poems (Pandora Lobo Estepario Press, 2014) and Corazón Pintado: Ekphrastic Poems (TL Press 2012). Caraza is a writer for La Bloga (http://labloga.blogspot.com/ ) and she writes the US Latino Poets en español column (http://www.periodicodepoesia.unam.mx/). This online poetry column is published monthly and is a collaboration between the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum and Periódico de Poesía. In addition, she writes the poetry/narrative section for Revista Zona de Ocio (http://www.revistazonadeocio.com/ ). She curates the National Poetry Month, Poem-a-Day project, for the Con Tinta Literary Organization since 2012. She has an M.A. in Romance Languages, and she lectures in Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Caraza is an advisory circle member of the Con Tinta literary organization and a former board member of the Latino Writers Collective in Kansas City. This poem is from Conjuro, $18.00, 142 pages, perfect bound, $24.00 hardback. Order online www.mammothpublications.net or by mail, Mammoth, 1916 Stratford, Lawrence, KS 66044. Mention Kansas Time and Place and receive 30% discount.
Denise Low, Kansas Poet Laureate 2007-2009, is author of 25 award-winning books of poetry and prose. She does individual 
consulting and editing, as well as workshops. She teaches in the Baker University School of Professional and Graduate Studies. Low is co-publisher of Mammoth Publications an independent small literary press specializing in Indigenous and Mid-Plains poetry and prose. Her poetry blog has over 400 entries, and she reviews poetry for the Kansas City Star. For more, see BIOGRAPHY. Her book of poetry Mélange Block, from Red Mountain Press, Santa Fe, assembles a geological continuum of passion, grief, and American Indian and European histories. She launches the book in Lawrence, Ks., the Raven Bookstore, June 25, 7 pm. Recent online publications are from Numero Cinq, Feb. 2014. An interview is in the Feb. 2014 Museum of Americanaliterary journal. North Dakota Q.published a special issue about William Stafford, including Low’s “‘The Way It Is’: Second Sight in William Stafford’s Poetry.”Contact information is at www.deniselow.net
The Coop: A Poetry Cooperative 