How to Be a Good Savage and Other Poems

Mikeas Sánchez is the author of How to Be a Good Savage and Other Poems. She is one of the most important poets of the Indigenous Americas, working in Zoque, a language spoken in southern Mexico. She is the only woman to have ever published a book of poetry in that language. Her six volumes of poetry—including Mokaya / Mojk'Jäyä and Mumure' tä' yäjktambä / Todos somos cimarrones—are all bilingual Spanish-Zoque. Sánchez’s work has been translated into Bangla, Catalan, English, German, Italian, Maya, Mixe, and Portuguese. In Chiapas, Mexico, she was awarded first place in the “Y el Bolóm dice . . .” Prize for Fiction as well as the Pat O’tan Prize for Indigenous Poetry. Sánchez is a radio producer, translator, community health promoter, and defender of Zoque lands. She lives in Ajway, Chiapas.Wendy Call is co-editor of Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers’ Guide and Best Literary Translations, author of the award-winning No Word for Welcome, and translator of two collections of poetry by Mexican-Zapotec poet Irma Pineda: In the Belly of Night and Other Poems and Nostalgia Doesn’t Flow Away Like Riverwater. Her literary projects have been supported by Artist Trust, the Fulbright Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Call serves on the faculty of the Rainier Writing Workshop MFA program and lives in Seattle, on Duwamish land, and in Oaxaca, Mexico, on Mixtec and Zapotec land.Shook is a poet, translator, and editor whose work has spanned a wide range of languages and places. Their writing has appeared in Poetry, World Literature Today, the Guardian, and many other publications, as well as being translated into more than a dozen languages, including Isthmus Zapotec, Kurdish, and Uyghur. Since founding Phoneme Media in 2013, Shook has edited and published translations from over thirty-five languages. Today they direct Kashkul Books, a publishing project based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, as well as the translation-focused imprint avión at Gato Negro Ediciones in Mexico City. They reside at Newt Beach in Northern California.

Praise for How the Be a Good Savage and Other Poems“In How to Be a Good Savage and Other Poems, Macy’s store windows and buildings like “dark, silent tombs” share space with sacred mountains and flowers that teach newborns to speak. [. . .]  [Sanchez’s] writing is compelling in part because she manages to simultaneously honor and challenge traditions — her own and those of others — presenting a Zoque worldview in dialogue with global ecology, feminism and modernity writ large.”—Benjamin Samuels, New York Times Book Review“As the first woman to ever publish a book of poetry in Zoque, a language spoken in Southern Mexico, and Spanish, this poetry collection encompasses colonialism, lineage, and the balance to embrace ancestral roots and the present. Powerful and lyrical, this collection is unlike anything other collection of poems I’ve read before.”—Lupita Aquino, The Today Show“In a fiercely personal yet authoritative voice…Mikeas Sánchez explores the worldview of the Zoque people of southern Mexico[…] How to Be a Good Savage and Other Poems examines the intersection of Zoque struggles against colonialism and empire, and those of North African immigrants and refugees. [. . .] Coming from the only woman to ever publish a book of poetry in Zoque and Spanish, this timely, powerful collection pairs the bilingual originals with an English translation for the first time."—Latin American Literature Today “How to Be a Good Savage and Other Poems is not simply another poetry collection. Its pages are, notably, a means of cultural and linguistic preservation, and each and every poem is call for attention to and awareness of the cultures, beliefs, and peoples colonialism has long displaced and overshadowed.”—Nicole Yurcaba, Tupelo Quarterly “In a fiercely personal yet authoritative voice, prolific contemporary poet Mikeas Sánchez explores the worldview of the Zoque people of southern Mexico. Her paced, steely lyrics fuse cosmology, lineage, feminism, and environmental activism into a singular body of work that stands for the self and the collective in the same instant.”—Philly Chapbook ReviewPraise for the Seedbank Series“Milkweed’s Seedbank series is one of the most exciting and visionary projects in contemporary publishing. Taking the long view, these volumes run parallel to the much-hyped books of the moment to demonstrate the possibility and hope inherent in all great literature.”—Stephen Sparks, Point Reyes Books“Through its cultural-linguistic contribution to narrative diversity, Milkweed's Seedbank series is a vital tool in imagining the futures possible for humanity beyond the anthropocene. Bringing works from Greek, K'iche', German, Russian (and more!) whose authors are deeply rooted in their homelands, each voice encountered has resonated with me on a seemingly cellular level—shifting and changing both who I am and can be. I will continue to press these books into the hands of compassionate readers and cannot wait to share the forthcoming titles in the project!”—Erin Pineda from 27th Letter Books“Milkweed as a publishing house has long been championing literary works both fictitious and true to life centered around culture, nature, and environmentalism. The Seedbank series serves as both a marvelous introduction to the books Milkweed provides and as a collection of essential stories that ought to be on everyone's radar. The words behind these front covers highlight life-changing experiences, knowledge, and ways of life from communities that are seldom otherwise heard from in the publishing world through an authentic cultural lens. What I've read from the Seedbank line is phenomenal, and I look forward to spending time with future works in the series.”—Andrew King from Secret Garden Books

• Introduction by Jake SkeetsNote on the TranslationsOre’yomoOre’yomoOre’yomoWejpäj’ki’uyNombrar las cosasTo Name ThingsMojk’jäyäMokayaMokayaTumjama maka mujsi’Y sabrás un díaAnd One Day You Will Know Te’ kojama wi’rupa jurä nitiyä ji’ nhtä manemä’El alma retorna al grito del silencioThe Soul Returns to Silence’s Cry Aisha’AishaAisha RamaRamaRama Mumure’ nhtä’ yäjktampäTodos somos cimarronesWe’re All Maroons Nereyda’is myapasyi’äyu nhwyt New’YorkNereyda se soñó en New YorkNereyda Dreamed in New York [¡Jä! te’ kakuy myojna’pyapä’is mij’ nhkojso][¡Ay! de la muerte que te cubre los pies][Ay! From the death that covers your feet] [Maka’ mini’ te’ kakuy / tese’ maka ‘mpyi’are’ mij’ änhkuy’omo][Llegará la muerte / y te encontrará en tu cama][Death will arrive / and find you in your bed] [Maka mini te’ kaku’y / te’ wiyunh’sepä][Llegará la muerte / la verdadera][Death will arrive / the true one] [Wäkä nhtä’ jampä’ä te’ toya’][Que para olvidar el dolor][May just one prayer] [Äkyaj’papä temäjk kätpamä te’ jama teserike te’ tzu’][Los que duermen más allá del día y la noche][Those who sleep beyond day and night] [Mujspatzi nyitzäjk’pak teserike yajpak’ te’ jama][En el inicio y la culminación del día sé][At beginning and end of each day I know] [Tumä jama tumä pänis][Un día un hombre][One day a man] Jesukristo’is ja’ nyiäjk’tyiäjya äj’ tzumama’is KyonukskuyJesucristo no entendió jamás los ruegos de mi abuelaJesus Never Understood My Grandmother’s Prayers Wanhjampatzi yom’nhkomi nyiäyi’päis SoledadMi Virgen se llama soledadMy Virgin’s Named for Solitude Nhtä’ nhtzamä ore’ sasyapyä tire’Ser zoque es un privilegioTo Be Zoque Is a Privilege Päjkinh’tzyoki’uy’ mokaya’pätkoroyaRecibimiento del hombre mokayaReception for a Mokaya Man Päjkinh’tzyi’okyuy mokaya’yomo’koroyaRecibimiento de la mujer mokayaReception for a Mokaya Woman Aj’ jara’is tzi’upä’Mi padre me dio un regaloMy Father Gave Me a Gift We’we’WeweWewe Tzoko’tzyamePensar con el corazónThinking with Our Hearts Wäkä’ jana tyi’ujanämä’ nijp’pyajpakPara que no llueva el día de tu entierroSo It Won’t Rain on Your Burial Day Wenhti’OfrendaGift Tumä une’ mapasyiäpyaUn niño sueñaA Child Dreams Jujtzyi’e nhtä wäpä tzamapänh’ajäCómo ser un buen salvajeHow to Be a Good Savage Te’ mekeEl festínFeast Mapasyiäpyatzi yäjkpä’wakasSoñando con un toro negroDreaming of a Black Bull PistinhCeibaCeiba Mäja kupkuy’omo Saspalankis’yuneram jätyi’ampatziLos hijos de Saspalanki lloramos en la gran ciudadSaspalanki’s Children Cry in the Big City SonerampäteSomos MillonesWe Are Millions Nä’pyajpa, Mokayaram maka’ yajpä’ya’eDicen que los Mokayas nos extinguiremosThey Say the Mokayas Will Go Extinct Jujtzyi’ere’¿Cuánto vale?What Is It Worth? Tä’ mokaya’ramteSomos mokayasWe Are Mokayas Mokaya, kämanä’Escucha, mokayaListen, Mokaya Maka’ tä’ wyrurame nhtä’ ‘tunh’omoVolveremos al caminoReturning to the Path Notes on the PoemsAcknowledgments