ASU Book Group: 'When My Brother Was an Aztec' by Natalie Diaz

The ASU Book Group's April 2019 reading selection is "When My Brother Was an Aztec" by Natalie Diaz. The book group is open to all in the ASU community and meets monthly from noon to 1 p.m. in the Piper Writers House on ASU's Tempe campus. Authors are always present. A no-host luncheon follows at the University Club. Attendees at each meeting will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift certificate! Drawing to be held this month.

Synopsis: "I write hungry sentences," Natalie Diaz once explained in an interview, "because they want more and more lyricism and imagery to satisfy them." This debut collection of poetry is a fast-paced tour of Mojave life and family narrative: A sister fights for or against a brother on meth, and everyone from Antigone, Houdini, Huitzilopochtli and Jesus is invoked and invited to hash it out. These darkly humorous poems illuminate far corners of the heart, revealing teeth, tails and more than a few dreams.

The book is available from amazon.com.

Natalie Diaz is associate professor of English in creative writing at ASU.

The ASU Book Group is sponsored as a community outreach initiative by the Department of English and organized in partnership with the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing.