Palimpsests of Power: Gloria Grahame to Aztec Codices

In the hushed sanctuary of an ancient library, two minds unravel the threads connecting Gloria Grahame’s memoir to Mesoamerican historiography. How do the disgraced—whether exiled rulers or misunderstood actresses—inscribe their truths over the narratives of victors? From Calakmul’s rain-cleansed glyphs to the layered Codex Mendoza, this conversation explores the art of rewriting history, one palimpsest at a time. A storm rages outside, but inside, the fire crackles with questions of legacy, erasure, and the voices history forgets to ask.

In the hushed sanctuary of an ancient library, two minds unravel the threads connecting Gloria Grahame’s memoir to Mesoamerican historiography. How do the disgraced—whether exiled rulers or misunderstood actresses—inscribe their truths over the narratives of victors? From Calakmul’s rain-cleansed glyphs to the layered Codex Mendoza, this conversation explores the art of rewriting history, one palimpsest at a time. A storm rages outside, but inside, the fire crackles with questions of legacy, erasure, and the voices history forgets to ask.