Description
Book SynopsisIn The Epic of Juan Latino, Elizabeth R. Wright tells the story of Renaissance Europe’s first black poet and his epic poem on the naval battle of Lepanto, Austrias Carmen (The Song of John of Austria).
Piecing together the surviving evidence, Wright traces Latino’s life in Granada, Iberia’s last Muslim metropolis, from his early clandestine education as a slave in a noble household to his distinguished career as a schoolmaster at the University of Granada. When intensifying racial discrimination and the chaos of the Morisco Revolt threatened Latino’s hard-won status, he set out to secure his position by publishing an epic poem in Latin verse, the Austrias Carmen, that would demonstrate his mastery of Europe’s international literary language and celebrate his own African heritage.
Through Latino’s remarkable, hitherto untold story, Wright illuminates the racial and religious tensions of sixteenth-century Spain
Trade Review
"Wright has produced an admirable and highly recommended study." -- William D. Phillips, Jr., University of Minnesota * University of Toronto Quarterly, vol 87 3, Summer 2018 *
Table of Contents
Introduction: A Lost Portrait and a Forgotten Name Part I: From Slave to Freedman in Granada Chapter 1: Latin Lessons Amid the Remnants of Al-Andalus Chapter 2: Civil War, Shattered Convivencia Part II: The Epic of Lepanto Chapter 3: A Black Poet and a Habsburg Phoenix Chapter 4: Christians and Muslims on the Battle Lines Chapter 5: The Costs of Modern Warfare Conclusion: Song of the Black Swan Epilogue: Juan Latino in the Harlem Renaissance Appendix 1: Elegy for Philip II, Annotated Translation Appendix 2: Chronology
