Indigenous Mesoamerican poetry forms intersect with song, but we are assembling a page here with links to poetry and literature for those who might wish to develop curriculum and teach them as literary forms, whether prehispanic, colonial, or modern.  These are highly developed arts, replete with metaphors and symbolism, and they connect to so many additional aspects of the culture, such as religion.

Pre-Columbian Nahua (or Aztec) Poetry and Mythology

• “The Flower Songs of Nezahualcoyotl: Ancient Nahua (Aztec) Poetry,” John Curl, FAMSI
• “The Flower Songs of Hungry Coyote,” John Curl, FAMSI
• “Will Nothing of My Earthly Fame Endure?” translated from Nahuatl by Miguel León-Portilla, Words-Without-Borders, 2004
• “O Giver of Life,” translated from Nahuatl by Miguel León-Portilla, Words-Without-Borders, 2004
• “Aztec Poetry“
• Lorna Dils, “Aztec Mythology” (Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute resource bank)

Pre-Columbian Maya Poetry

• “The Songs of Dzitbalche: Ancient Mayan Poetry,” John Curl, FAMSI

 Mixtec History, Legends, and Poetry

• Maarten Jansen, “The Search for History in Mixtec Codices,” Ancient Mesoamerica 1 (1990), 99-112 (Google this for a free downloadable PDF)
• John Monaghan, “The Feathered Serpent in Oaxaca: An Approach to the Study of the Mixtec Codices,” Expedition 31:1 (PDF hosted by the Penn State Museum)
• Thomas J. Ibach, “The Man Born of a Tree: A Mixtec Origin Myth,” 2013 (Google this for a free downloadable PDF)
• “Mosaic Disk with a Mythological and Historical Scene,” Mixtec, ca. 1400–1500 C.E., image and analysis, Art Institute of Chicago
• “Creation-Story of the Mixtecs,” hosted by Missouri State University
• “El origin del pueblo mixteco,” Mixtec Language and Culture site from San Diego State University (in Spanish)
• “Memories: Ta nsikuino ini,” a poem in Mixtec with a Spanish translation, also part of the Mixtec Language and Culture site from San Diego State University

Zapotec Legends

• “The Legend of Princess Donají“

Contemporary Zapotec Poetry

• “Victor Terán’s Isthmus Zapotec Poetry,” Phoneme Media (video shot in a cornfield with spoken poetry in Zapotec and with English subtitles, under 3 minutes
• “From The Black Flower and Other Zapotec Poems,” Natalia Toledo, two poems translated into English from Isthmus Zapotec and Spanish
• “The Zapotec Language,” Francisco de la Cruz (translated to English from Spanish, and from the original Zapotec)
• “Zapotec Poetry: Bilingual Recordings,” World Literature Today (free streaming audio)
• “The Macondo Writers Workshop,” (Oaxaca, 2011), World Literature Today full text article