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Inventing the Americas is a carefully crafted sequence of thirteen poems that captures in vivid detail the voyages of Columbus and Americus Vespucci as they both "discover" and "invent" the New World (otro mundo) of the Western Hemisphere. As both men encounter "the Other," indigenous people in a previously unexplored part of the world, they are often blinded by preconceptions. As Heath notes, the world in their heads is not the one under their feet. The poet holds his extensive research lightly, and thus is able to skillfully place the reader in these crucial encounters that shaped the course of world history. On his first landfall, for example, Columbus makes a series of mistakes that foreshadow tragic events to come: he assumes he can claim the land for Spain; he assumes that because the natives in their tropical climate wear few clothes, that they are inferior; he notes, however, that they are intelligent and have strong bodies, so decides they would make good slaves; because he sees no priests, he assumes they have no religion and will be easily converted to the Catholic faith; when one native touches the blade of a sword and cuts himself (the first blood shed), he assumes his weapons of war are superior and the natives can be easily conquered; because he cannot understand their language, he assumes they must be taught "to talk," and so forth.
During his four voyages Columbus undergoes a series of triumphs and ordeals that ultimately leave him a broken man.Americus Vespucci capitalizes on Columbus's discoveries during two voyages to South America. His sensationalized accounts of his experiences-which stress exotic, erotic, and horrific aspects-are far more widely read in Europe and thus the continents of the Western Hemisphere are named for him, not Columbus. Through his apt words and skillful storytelling, Heath puts the reader in the midst of these seeming small but momentous events. If you love language and fascinating narratives and wish to experience what happens when one side of the world encounters the other for the first time, Inventing the Americas is the place to start. Recommended for classrooms from junior high to graduate school and to curious readers everywhere.
