Land of the Four Quarters: A Poetic History of the Incas
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.44 (720 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B003YMMAOA |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 285 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-07-08 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Through the eyes of the Indians both noble and lowly, real and imaginary, in a series of first person poems, the events in the one hundred years immediately before Francisco Pizarro's arrival in Peru in 1532 until 1571 are recounted. Each of the Incan rulers relates events of the pre-conquest period through the execution of the last Incan ruler, Tupac Amaru. The metrical and stanzaic pattern of these dramatic monologues replicate the highly ordered Incan society. Fact becomes fiction and fiction becomes fact, bent which way suits best the imagination.. This collection of narrative poems incorporates much of the epic tradition while bringing something original to historical narration. Only a poetic history can imaginatively chronicle the epic struggle of the clash of two cultures. Totemic spirits—puma, condor, llama and serpent—speak, each representative pairs of the male-female polarities of the Incan empire, which was divided into four quarters, or suyos. As in all poetry, the facts of history are the spr
"Scholarship and art" according to A Customer. Land of the Four Quarters is a fine poetic history of the Incas. It is original, complex and very imaginative. Its form is stunning. Each new reading and rereading brings new insights into the rich historical period when the Incas flourished in Machu Picchu. Written maturely in uniform stanzas, iambic pentameter and intricate voices, complete with an Inca glossary, it reaches the pinnacle of scholarship and art.. Historical points of view via narrative poetry Ms. Diamond tells a hauntingly tragic tale by presenting the lamentations of a multitude of historical characters involved with the decline of the Inca Empire. My only wish is that the author would flesh these stories out with a historical novel.. Epic Poetry literature lover An awesome work of imagination in an almost-lost poetic form. Just a stunning work of art. The author clearly knows her history and is able to express it in a form that combines fact and imagination. Diamond writes with her usual posetic elegance and command of form.