Professor publishes folk stories on Mayan culture

"Yucatec Maya," a compilation of folk stories collected by Mary Preuss, Penn State McKeesport professor of Spanish and comparative literature, during visits to the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, will be released this summer. Preuss presents the stories and their interpretations as told to her by Yucatan natives whose ancestors orally passed them down over many centuries. She tape recorded, transcribed and translated the stories so that they will not be lost to future generations. "The influence of television on the present generation living in this region is strong," she says. "In the past, families gathered together and parents or grandparents entertained children with these stories. Unfortunately, many myths may be on their way to extinction."
Read the full story at http://www.mk.psu.edu/current/newreleases/06_17_04FolkStoriesM.Preuss