Memories of Fire: Eduardo Galeano and the Geography of Guatemala

In Memory of Fire, a poetic narration of the history of the Americas from pre-Columbian times to the late 20th century, Eduardo Galeano furnishes readers with over 1200 of his trademark vignettes, some 35 of which pertain to Guatemala. Galeano evokes disparate aspects of the geography of Guatemala,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geoforum 2006, Vol.37 (1), p.31-40
Main Author: Lovell, W. George
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Conflict
Creative non-fiction
Cycles of conquest
Eduardo Galeano
Galeano, Eduardo
Geography
Guatemala
History
Human geography
Literature
Maya peoples
Memory of Fire
Writers
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Summary:In Memory of Fire, a poetic narration of the history of the Americas from pre-Columbian times to the late 20th century, Eduardo Galeano furnishes readers with over 1200 of his trademark vignettes, some 35 of which pertain to Guatemala. Galeano evokes disparate aspects of the geography of Guatemala, past and present, in grounded miniatures of time, place, and episode. His sketches of the experiences of Maya peoples allow us to see them as survivors of three cycles of conquest: (1) conquest by imperial Spain; (2) conquest by local and international capitalism; and (3) conquest by state terror. Composed in the literary mode of creative non-fiction, Memory of Fire serves as an inspirational classroom text, exposing students not only to factual detail but also a powerful artistic imagination.
ISSN:0016-7185
1872-9398
DOI:10.1016/j.geoforum.2005.02.006