This episode of Arts & Letters Radio takes us on a journey into the high Andes of Cusco, Peru searching for folk tales. Compiled, translated and edited by Johnny Payne, She Calf and other Quechua Folk Tales published by New Mexico Press was the first collection of stories from the Cusco region to be published in English.
The episode will broadcast on Friday, July 11 at 9 PM and re-air on Sunday, July 13 at 6 PM. Episode will be available for streaming here and on your favorite podcast platforms on Monday, July 14.
Let's listen to tales told to Payne in 1981 by Teodora Paliza and Miguel Waman and others including "The She Calf," "What the Gringo Ate," "The Hacienda's Owner's Daughter," and, "The Farewell"—intricate interwoven tales filled with tragedy and comedy; the secular and sacred; the natural and supernatural.
Excerpt from "The She Calf" tale:
"Once there was a newlywed woman, and she lived with her new husband. She always said, 'How cute! I wish my child could be like that. Oh, I wish my child would be just like my cat and dog.'"
Payne writes in "An Interloper's Introduction"
"The fascination of the ethnographer, in some respects, is not unlike that of the indigenous dweller who sits listening to the story or oral history being told. In Quechua folk tales, the narrative act has its own special verb tense, -squ, suggesting that this encounter grants freedoms beyond the everyday, and at the same time, requires strict observance of injunctions and prohibitions."
Thank you to Peruvian guitarist Pepe Valdez for performing the Quechua folk songs.
Author Johnny Payne, Kentucky native, is the Director of the MFA in Creative Writing at Mount Saint Mary's University in Los Angeles. His novels include Confessions of a Gentleman Killer and The Hard Side of the River. He's also written the novel, The Graveyard of First Chapters, forthcoming by Silent Clamor Press. (The book features a reimagining of the Peruvian tale "The Hacienda Owner's Daughter.")
In addition, Payne has published two books of poetry including Funeral Playlist. Payne also is an active playwright and specializes in the ethnographic study of dance, ritual, and oral tradition in contemporary Peru.
Spencer Kenney, the producer for this episode, is a musician and sound engineer from Dallas, Texas. Some of Spencer's sound design and compositions can be heard on the multi-media project from the mind of Greg Brownderville, entitled Firebones.
He has released two solo projects under the name SPK/Spencer Kenney, for New Math Records and Dolfin Records and has done production work for the Arts & Letters' episode "Still No Word From You."
Currently he is the bassist and producer for Dallas' own Sabor Puro, and one half of Beekeeper Spaceman duo. You can find his work at spencerkenney.bandcamp.com
Generous funding for Arts & Letters Radio is provided by Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and from listeners like you.
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Executive Producer and Host: J. Bradley Minnick
Senior Producer: Mary Ellen Kubit
Episode Producer: Spencer Kenney
Music: Pepe Valdez
Sound Design: Spencer Kenney
