Quick Quiz: Latin American Literature

Question: What is the name of the Maya document that has been an invaluable source of knowledge of ancient Maya mythology and culture?

Answer: The Popol Vuh is the Maya document that has been an invaluable source of knowledge of ancient Maya mythology and culture. Written in K’iche’ (a Guatemalan Mayan language), using the Latin alphabet with Spanish orthography, by a Mayan author or authors between 1554 and 1558, it chronicles the creation of humankind, the actions of the gods, the origin and history of the K’iche’ people, and the chronology of their kings down to 1550.

Question: What Chilean poet wrote a book of verse called Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair?

Answer: The Chilean poet, diplomat, and politician Pablo Neruda published Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada (Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair) in 1924. His second book, it was inspired by an unhappy love affair. It became an instant success.

Question: Who was the outstanding lyric poet of Mexico’s colonial period?

Answer: In order to dedicate her life to learning, the woman later known as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz rejected the idea of marriage and entered the convent of Santa Paula of the order of San Jerónimo on February 24, 1669. There she assembled a library of about 4,000 volumes, experimented in the sciences, and wrote poems and religious and secular plays, eventually becoming the outstanding lyric poet of Mexico’s colonial period. She is famous for the poem that begins, “Hombres necios que acusáis” (“O foolish men who accuse [women]”).