The epic of America

"Rafael Landivar is the best known of all the poets from the Americas to write in Latin. In the Rusticatio Mexicana (1782), his masterpiece of didactic poetry, he drew extensively from Greek and Roman literature to describe in vivid epic verse the natural wonders, livelihoods and popular traditions of Mexico and his native Guatemala." "This book begins with a detailed account of Mexico's unique classical heritage, showing how humanists in colonial New Spain applied indigenous forms of knowledge and a multicultural perspective to their reading of ancient authors. Further information about Landivar's life and exile to Itlay helps to illuminate the allegorical character of his work - and its important political dimension. This study of 'the American Virgil' will encourage readers to discover the themselves the astonishing quality and sophistication of the Latin literature of Latin America." "The present volume incorporates a complete text of the Rusticatio Mexicana (with Regenos' translation). Landivar's shorter works in Latin have also been collected and translated into English for the first time."--Jacket.