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| The
Double Reckoning of Christopher Columbus,
nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1992, is seeped in
research. Hyett bases her impressions on two recent translations
of Columbus's diary, her studies of medieval science and
of all the books Columbus read, and on her own investigations
in Spain, Portugal, and the Canary Islands. Hyett hopes
to cast new light on the explorer whose ultimate quest
remains a mystery. |
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The
Double Reckoning Of Christopher Columbus
by
Barbara Helfgott Hyett, Chicago, University of Illinois Press.
1992.
Discoverer
or conqueror? Hero or Villain? Christopher Columbus was neither
of the latter, and probably both of the former. Whatever else
is true of history's most famous seaman, according to Barbara
Helfgott Hyett, he remains an enigma, a figure of major historical
importance whose very birthplace, ethnic heritage, and physical
appearance remain matters on which scholars disagree.
Intrigued
by the mystery that still surrounds Columbus, Hyett has written
47 poems that enlarge on the entries in his Diario, the journal
he presented to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain on his return
from what he called the "First Voyage of Discovery."
Prefacing each poem with an excerpt from the journal, Hyett
provides her own "double reckoning." Endnotes explain
some of the historical details in the record. She finds Columbus
a gifted seaman, but unable to rise above his own vanity or
the racism and territorialism of his era. In the light of
the encounter between the Europeans and the native population
and the subsequent genocide of the Arawak people, she does
not celebrate the "discovery" but explores, instead,
the meaning and ethical paradox of such events.
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