Humberto Ak’abal (1952–2019) was a K’iche’ Maya poet from Guatemala. His collection Guardián de la caída de agua (Guardian of the Waterfall) was named book of the year by Association of Guatemalan Journalists and received their Golden Quetzal award in 1993. In 2004, he declined to receive the Guatemala National Prize in Literature because it is named for Miguel Ángel Asturias, whom Ak’abal accused of encouraging racism. Ak’abal, recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship, died on January 28, 2019. A bilingual selected edition of his work, If Today Were Tomorrow (translated by Michael Bazzett), is forthcoming from Milkweed Editions in June. (updated 4/2024)