Quinta Mazatlán is hosting author Lisa Kay Adam on Thursday, February 11th, 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm on The Back Porch at Quinta Mazatlán. Adams has taken the whispered and fragmented words of the ancient Coahuiltecan peoples and expanded the meanings into poems and stories. Her book, Xuāi, will be for sale and signing for that unique Valentine's gift!
The book, Xuāi: mission-house-village-town, opens up a window of imagination into the experience of indigenous peoples who lived in the Spanish colonial missions of South Texas and northeastern Mexico. The poems incorporate phrases and words from their long-silent language, as well as elements from the history, natural history, and archeology of the region. The book features color illustrations from a rare colonial map of the area. Bob Holman, Co-director of the Endangered Language Alliance shared, ”This is a book of audacious imagination”. He continues “There is no higher purpose for poetry than to be the vehicle for language itself to survive. That is the purpose of Xuāi.”
Lisa Kay Adams grew up in South Texas, spending many childhood hours under the shade of a honey mesquite tree. She earned her undergraduate degree in anthropology and English from UT Austin, and her Ph.D in historical geography and anthropology at Louisiana State University. She has published poetry and essays in the Nature Conservancy Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, and many other journals. Adams has enjoyed a long career in history and art museums and now volunteers with the Texas Master Naturalists.