Zaz

alurista, the proto-poet laureate of Aztlan whose enigmatic nom de plume has long been synonymous with Chicano poetry, returns with a pristine and rarefied homecoming coda. ZAZ (in Caló: "bam!" or "right on!"), recalls classic Spik in Glyph? multi-dimensional sonic, phonetic and textual word play burnished by astonishing and unapologetic interlingual English, Spanish, Nahuatl and Caló hybridity. The spare and resonant verse gathered in this arresting volume speaks to the mundane, the profane and the esoteric simultaneously. At once ceremonial prayer chants and oracular pronouncements, the poems shimmer yet remained anchored by a welcome formal purity. This collection brings the internationally acclaimed alurista-a leading voice at the historic, first-ever Festival de Flor y Canto (USC, 1973)-home as well to a dynamic new imprint named in honor of that venerated floricanto ("flower-song" from the Nahuatl) tradition.