The Ecstasy of Cabeza de Vaca

In 1528, a Spanish expedition was shipwrecked in the Gulf of Mexico. Eight years later only four men remained alive. They had over­come starvation, illness, and brutal conditions as they crossed the continent in search of their countrymen. One of the four, Cabeza de Vaca, later published a mesmerising account of what occurred.
The Ecstasy of Cabeza de Vaca is Keith Hill's masterful verse retelling of Cabeza de Vaca's story. Naked and enslaved, de Vaca was stripped of all he possessed, then underwent an extraordinary transformation. This is a heartbreaking story of courage and faith, barbarity and miracles, that transports us to the limits of what human beings are capable of achieving.

«A tour de force. A truly original and remarkable recasting in verse of the ill-fated Narváez expedition to Central America. Hill's humanizing of de Vaca is the ingredient that makes it so moving and once taken up, impossible to put down.» — Alistair Paterson, poet, editor, literary critic

“A dramatic, intriguing cover introduces extraordinary encounters depicted in beautifully rendered action and imagery. Hill makes de Vaca's inner world spring to wondrous life. Natural, memorable, and rewarding.” — Raewyn Alexander, author, editor, lecturer, reviewer

An extraordinary effort of imagination. Keith Hill is a unique creative individual who has produced a huge body of distinctive work. In New Zealand literature there's no one quite like him, and certainly no long poem like this one. — Roger Horrocks, writer and filmmaker

Keith Hill is a New Zealand writer and filmmaker. His debut feature film, This Is Not A Love Story, won Best Screenplay at Los Angeles' DancesWith Films Festival. Three of his non-fiction books, Striving To Be Human (2006), The God Revolution (2011) and Practical Spirituality (2013), have won New Zealand's Ashton Wylie Award for writing in the genre of mind, body and spirit. His poetry includes Psalms of Exile and Return and versions of Mirabai, Kabir and The Bhagavad Gita.