1/ For #Pride , I’d like to introduce you to Manuel Tzoc Bucup: a poet, a maker of books, a curator of vintage clothing, and a performance artist from Iximulew (Guatemala).
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Images, videos with author’s permission.
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#CentAmPoetry #CentAmStudies #Orgullo #Tzoc

2/ He describes himself as “Maya k’iche’ no hablante” and “indiamaricaurbano, rarite” a non-speaker of Maya K’iche’ and an urban Indigiqueer (a nod to @JWhitehead204, whose term works nicely as a translation for indiamaricaurbano).

3/ To talk about Tzoc is to talk about all of him: his poetry, his handmade books, his clothing, his body, and his performance work. One could isolate his words but that’s just sad. I say that quite intently, you’ll soon see why.

4/ I’m only telling you about a small part of his body of work. First up, his poetry collection Gay(o) (2016). This is a libro cartonero or cardboard book; inside pages are the same but every cover is handcrafted and unique.

5/ Gay(o) is play on words: gay + yo=I, gay; and gallo (same sound in CAm Spanish)=rooster, also Guatemala’s most popular beer brands (you can read about this in the last chapter of Unwriting).

6/ Another beautiful piece is Cuerpo de niño triste/Body of a Sad Boy (2015). This book-object is a series of circles that fit inside of a CD case. Pictures don't do it justice.

7/ The feel of the paper, the circular reading, the images (by local visual artists), all are part of the experience. This is something Tzoc is very aware of and returns to again and again, making his reader get close and experience poetry through touch.

8/ Polen (2014) is one of his most popular book-objects. It’s unnumbered and Tzoc has no idea how many copies are out there. It’s a glass bottle that contains 21 capsules, each with a poem rolled up.

9/ The poetry-medicine comes w a prescription. It indicates either a low dosage of one capsule a day or all at once for a complete poetic overdose.

10/ This is a video Tzoc recently did for FB to give a better sense of how Polen works. For him the experience is a ritual and, again, it brings the reader close to the maker, bridging the distance between poet-poetry-reader. https://www.facebook.com/manuelgabriel.tzocbucup/videos/10160095154146151/

11/ Tzoc’s performance Piel/Skin (2016) is awesome. Shortly after his mother’s passing, he inherited her cortes (wrap-around skirts worn by Maya women) and he had a full bodysuit crafted out of one of them. The inspiration: bondage and Japanese zentai.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/24/pictures-of-the-day-24-october-2016/guatemalan-artist-manuel-tzoc-presents-his-performance-called-pi/

12/ The performance: he walked & stood in front of the National Palace, slowly undressed, stood naked for a minute & slowly put on the bodysuit, which covered him from head to toe, with only a zipper running along back to base of head. https://elsiglo.com.gt/2016/11/08/manuel-tzoc-se-presento-en-la-plaza-de-la-constitucion/

13/ His latest piece, a book-object, is Wuj:/Word (2019). Here he explores among other things, his Maya K’iche’ roots and social media (see poems San Google and). Wuj: And though not seemingly as striking as Polen, is all about the book as fetish.

14/ The paper he uses is cáscara de huevo (canson is the closest equivalent), a thick richly textured paper. The poems are all in loose sheets in an envelope that has been sealed. The number of the copy is stamped on the envelope itself. It’s a limited run of 50 copies.

15/ The typography reminds us of a typewritten letter. Interestingly enough, he has been hand delivering or mailing Wuj: these past few weeks.

16/ You can read some of Tzoc’s poetry in translation by @Tsikbalichmaya in @LatinAm

http://www.latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/en/2018/november/four-poems-manuel-tzoc-bucup

#CentAmPoetry #Pride #MayaPoetry

17/ And more poetry, translated by @Tsikbalichmaya in @Asymptote: https://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2019/08/13/translation-tuesday-i-fell-in-love-with-a-poet-by-manuel-tzoc/

#CentAmPoetry #Pride #MayaPoetry

18/ You can also follow Tzoc on Facebook or Instagram, and if you’d like to purchase any of his work, you can message him directly. Or send me a DM, I’d be more than happy to put you in touch.