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a literary journal published by the Black Earth Institute dedicated to re-forging the links between art and spirit, earth and society

Hermelinda Hernandez Monjaras


Catalogue

Oaxaca: en el presente: más biodiverso: 135 protected areas: 6 million hectares: good state of conservation: 12 thousand species:  n. geometrical figures: flora y fauna:: risks: v2III poaching: trespassing, in pursuit of game:: n2 looting: something taken with force or violence:: forest fires: changes in land use:: species: role in ecosystem (n. organisms in environment): n. fauna (animal): 1400 vertebrates (n. of an animal, backbone): 700 species of birds (n. feathered vertebrate): jaguar (jaguar): tapir (tapir): spider bun (moño araña): oncilla (tigrillo): others: danger of extinction (n. extinguishing, putting out the light):: n. flora (catalogue of plants): 8400 species: 4b. bodily frame, 10a. artificial or 5a. visible,  9a. material or immaterial, 2. series of lines…

visual/pictorial poem

Click here for accessible text

[pictorial poem]

[COLUMN 1]
DIFFERENT WAYS TO LOCATE ABUELA

[COLUMN 2]
a zig-zagging line connects letters, from top to bottom:
E
D *
H
M
N
F
G
K
C
I
B
A
L
J

[COLUMN 3]
J. tell the peak of each outline you will zigzag
into recycled mosaics of chanclas to gravity Abuela’s song
L. walk the valley of each sun god
A. stay & seek travel permits
south of the worldview rain god
B. deport yourself to Abuela & sow a path
I. angle walk the gods there Zapoteco will sing
C. if they ask for an exchange
tornado vector the pyramid upside down
K. toss until you tumble weed west & east
G. travel through moutains to weave a sharp turn
F. plot a ritual or hike the apex
N. sand dance to reach the moon god
canyon of dunes
M. slope the valley of the nebulous
goddess until you’re waxed downhill
H. plateau to bring back Abuela &
locate southern celestial whisper
D. as your life collapses
summit into the milky way
E. divide into billions of clouds
when you reach primordial hemisphere
*twist immigrant god
the fittest indigenous equator
sinks under seven continents

[COLUMN 4]
[light gray text]
20° W 160° E
21° 15′ 34.7652″ N 86° 45′ 5.1624″ W
16° 32′ N 96° 40′ W
0° 12′ 32.2056″ S 78° 30′ 27.9036″ W
36° 15′ 57.7188″ N 112° 21′ 49.7088″ W
27° 59′ 9.8340″ N 86° 55′ 21.4428″ E
16° 34′ 02″ N 96° 43′ 51″ W
30° 26′ 17.74″ N 84°16′ 50.63″ W
17° 2′ 38″ N 96° 46′ 4″ W
31° 51′ 0.2952″ N 111° 51′ 24.6852″ W
31° 58′ 6.9564″ N 99° 54′ 6.516″ W
34° 3′ 8.046″ N 118° 14′ 37.2588″ W
36° 44′ 16.0692″ N 119° 47′ 13.65″ W
38° 54′ 25.8912″ N 77° 2′ 12.7428″ W


Zapoteca

visual/pictorial poem

Click here for accessible text

[pictorial poem]

[TOP, LEFT TO RIGHT]
no olvides de donde vienes

cuando lanzas una pluma, terminas con dos alas

sometimes, you forget you’re not American

[MIDDLE, LEFT TO RIGHT]
acirémA
[left facing triangle]
[angled dotted line]

[angled text]
I split multiple versions of reality
I’m always in the midst of migration

[center text]
crossing the blur
sleepingborder
sleepinggrief

[angled text]
‘mother’ ‘aunts’ ‘rooms’ deja vu manifests

[angled dotted line]
[right facing triangle]
America

[BOTTOM]
when I close my eyes, it’s a wide space a white place
I remember friction motion bright elements swirling the sand

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Hermelinda Hernandez Monjaras was born in Oaxaca, Mexico, and she was raised in Fresno, California. She is both an indígena and undocumented poet of Zapoteco descent. While she’s pursuing her Creative Writing MFA for Poetry at CSU, Fresno, she’s also a graduate artist at Juan Felipe Herrera’s Laureate Lab Visual Wordist Studio and has received a fellowship from Community of Writers. Her poetry has appeared in Small Press Traffic, Acentos Review, Zone 3, Poets.org, Honey Literary, The Ana, Voicemail Poems, and elsewhere.


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