When My Brother Was an Aztec

When My Brother Was an Aztec by Natalie Díaz

The debut collection of poems from Pulitzer Prize winner Natalie Díaz delves into Mojave life in an intimate and unabashed way. Díaz, who is Mexican and Mojave, uses her unique experience to bring this underrepresented community to life through her passionate prose.

"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 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.