The Serpent's Plumes

<p><b>Draws on Nahua concepts to explore Nahua literary production and contributions to cultural activism from the 1980s to the present.</b></p><p><b>2025 </b><b><i>CHOICE </i></b><b>Outstanding Academic Title</b></p><p><b>Silver Medal Co-Winner of the 2025 International Latino Book Awards in the category of Best Academic Themed Book College Level</b></p><p><i>The Serpent's Plumes </i>analyzes contemporary Nahua cultural production principally bilingual Nahuatl-Spanish xochitlajtoli or poetry written from the 1980s to the present. Adam W. Coon draws on Nahua perspectives as a decolonizing theoretical framework to argue that Nahua writers deploy unique worldviews-namely ixtlamatilistli (knowledge with the face which highlights the value of personal experiences); yoltlajlamikilistli (knowledge with the heart which underscores the importance of affective intelligence); and tlaixpan (that which is in front which presents the past as lying ahead of a subject rather than behind). The views of ixtlamatilistli yoltlajlamikilistli and tlaixpan are key in Nahua struggles and effectively challenge those who attempt to marginalize Native knowledge production.</p>