Original article: La poesía también muerde: Llega a Chile el libro que re-imagina la película Tiburón

Mexican Author Xitlatitl Rodríguez Delivers a Poetic Reimagining of Jaws in Chile

Mexican writer Xitlatitl Rodríguez Mendoza introduces Jaws [Tiburón], a groundbreaking book that dismantles the boundaries between poetry, essays, translation, and cinematic archive, examining the shark as a mythic, emotional, and political entity.

The book is organized into three parts—This is Water, False Friends, and Isla Contoy—and weaves references from Steven Spielberg and Ai Hasegawa to naturalist documentaries and interlingual translation.

«In my English class, I learned the origin of my name. It is not, as my mother wished, shark, but jaws,» the author writes, revealing a central tension in the book: translation as loss, displacement, and rewriting.

Through fragments, glosses, deviations, and linguistic errors, the poetic voice explores the fissures where meaning breaks down due to miscommunication, poor translation, or excessive literalism, suggesting that poetry arises precisely in the cracks between languages.

The text also incorporates stills from the 1975 film Jaws. Regarding this visual operation, Rodríguez Mendoza notes: «I do not aim to create a movie from the frames of another: I am giving certain images new meanings, in a language that is not cinematic but—hopefully—poetic.»

On the back cover, Chilean writer Daniela Catrileo states: «It immerses us in a mantra about the figure of the shark—or its jaw—where rhythm, imagery, and dislocated prose conjure the lurking presence behind the poetic mask of Jaws.»

«A book that thinks from the water and interrogates our present, where ecological disaster, the economy, and the imagination converge in the same tide,» representatives from Falso Azufre Publishing stated, responsible for the volume’s release.

Falso Azufre is a publisher specializing in texts that reflect on language and nature. Named after a volcano located between Chile and Argentina, their catalog is distinguished by its multidisciplinary approach and commitment to intellectual exploration.

Meanwhile, Xitlatitl Rodríguez Mendoza (born 1982 in Guadalajara, Mexico) is the author of several poetry books and plaquettes, including Datsun (2009), Catnip (2011), Hotel Universo (2019), and Poesía morosa. Prositas de amor contra el SAT (2022).

With Jaws [Tiburón] (2015), she was awarded the Ignacio Manuel Altamirano National Poetry Prize in 2015. Additionally, she co-authored the essay collection Poesía y desempleo with Atahualpa Espinosa, which is set for re-release.

She has been a member of the National System of Art Creators in the poetry discipline and has participated in international poetry festivals such as the Celebrate Mexico Now Festival in New York and Latinale in Berlin.

El Ciudadano