About U.S. Poets in Mexico
A Personal Discovery of Literary Mexico
Here in the U.S. - or at the small beach resorts in Mexico - one does not often hear about the profusion of literary excellence in Mexico - maybe USPiM can help change that!. Thus, U.S. Poets in Mexico was born out of a desire to introduce Mexican and American poets so they may share ideas, collaborate and perhaps help dissolve misunderstandings about our cultures. In Europe, it is common for one to be aware of the literary excellence of neighboring countries. Similarly, U.S. Poets in Mexico seeks to expand literary cultural awareness between Mexico and the United States.
Since I felt in my heart that Mérida was where I belonged, I began to consider purchasing a home there and researched everything about the city. Also, I began concentrating on how a writing workshop program in Mexico might make a difference, by reaching out to Mexican poets, local audiences, awarding scholarships to local poets and by exploring Mexican culture - instead of being an isolated "American experience" while in Mexico. Not long after, I took a closer look at the cover of Elizabeth Bishop's The Complete Poems 1927-1979. I had never paid much attention to the drawing on the front cover. After squinting for some time at the lower right hand corner of the drawing (and pulling out a magnifying glass), I realized that it was Mérida in 1942, when there were still windmills all over the city. That little drawing was my guiding star. I decided at that moment to hold the workshops initially, annually in Mérida and to venture out from there to other beaches, pueblas and cities in Mexico. U.S. Poets in Mexico was founded in March 2008. Since we are a new program and our 2nd traveling program per year in May has not happened yet, we will start traveling to new cities every year (and we will definitely be back in Merida soon!)
What We Do
We bring a faculty of four or five notable poets and one emerging poet to Mexico to conduct workshops and give free public readings. Notable and emerging contemporary Mexican poets are invited to give readings and conduct workshops. I decided to award five scholarships to writers from Yucatan to participate free of charge in the workshops in order to integrate our program with the community and broaden the opportunity for collaborations. Beginning in 2010, the Mérida Fellowship Award will be awarded to one American poet (a U.S. citizen) to participate in all program activities free of charge. The Mérida Fellow will give a reading on the same evening as one of our faculty members.
We provide a supportive writers' community for our participants. Poets can expect a productive and intimate program with no more than 8 persons in each workshop. Workshops include poetry in all of its forms and manifestations and generally do not concentrate on reworking existing poems. New works and collaborations between participants, faculty and visiting readers are encouraged. With our Sunday orientation breakfast, the Sunday day trip and evening cocktail hour, everyone becomes better acquainted before workshops begin on Monday morning. By the time our second day trip rolls around, friends have been established and group camaraderie has been formed. Our first two years of workshops took place in January each year for one week in the city of Mérida.
Our journal, Pyramid, publishes poems by current participants and we hope to publish the journal with a better binding in the near future.
We arrange Spanish lessons for participants while attending the workshop week. Workshops are primarily conducted in English, with at least two bilingual faculty members each year. Featured Mexican poets will conduct bi-lingual workshops. Readings are in English and Spanish (and some indigenous languages with Spanish and English translations), with professional translations.
Post-program readings by participants and faculty are arranged in NYC and L.A. and expanding these readings to smaller cities in the U.S. will be a goal for our future.
Aside from our website pages, our quarterly email newsletters and our new blog will keep everyone abreast of our events, publications, residencies and participant and faculty news.
Visit our Event Archives section to get an overview of our January, 2009 and 2010 events.
Our upcoming Residencies in Mexico will arrange for one Mexican poet and one American poet to reside in a colonial city in Mexico in order to work together on translations of each others poems to be published in our Two Visions Series/Dos Visiones by USPiM. We will then arrange reading tours in Mexico and the United States. We will also publish chapbooks by emerging poets from both countries.
We promise an exciting exploration of the voices, minds and hearts of both nations.
About our logo: The Maya hieroglyph AJ tz'i-b'a(aj tz'iib') (pronounced tz' éeeb) meaning "he of the writing," or "scribe"; artist's title; designates the occupation of scribe, painter, or artist in general
"Mérida from the roof" drawing and watercolor by Elizabeth Bishop, 1942
I visited Mexico for the first time in 1978, accompanying my artist friend Larry Rivers to visit his expat friends living in the Pacific beach town of Zihuatanejo. Our stays in Zihuatanejo led to visits by many of Larry's friends, including poets John Ashbery and Kenneth Koch and artists Alex Katz, Jane Freilicher, Karel Appel, and many more. Still, artistic and literary pursuits were not bountiful at the beach, aside from the studio Larry built and worked in for several years. American poet and artist friends were in Zihua to take in the sun. A trip to attend the opening of the Tamayo Contemporary Art Museum (Museo Tamayo de Arte Contemporáneo) in Mexico City was the closest we came to integrating with a cultural scene in Mexico. I remember shaking hands with Rufino Tamayo - he had a remarkable handshake, very strong and heartwarming - it was like shaking the hand of Mexico. However, for nearly three decades, I must also admit, my visits to Mexico were solely to indulge in the divine beaches.
After visiting the city of Mérida several times between 2005 and 2007, my curiosity about Mexico's literary heritage was sparked. Suddenly I realized that as a poet, I was familiar with a small amount of work by only a few Mexican poets: Octavio Paz, Xavier Villaurrutia and Ramón López Velarde - and not one contemporary poet. I became determined to remedy that situation. I attended a workshop in San Miguel de Allende and then combed through several excellent anthologies of contemporary Mexican poets and expanded my travels (away from small town beaches). A vast number of very talented contemporary poets emerged from my research. The cities of Xalapa, Merida, Zacatecas, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Morelia, Puebla and more, all have thriving literary communities! Add to that, indigenous language poets and writers from many regions.Here in the U.S. - or at the small beach resorts in Mexico - one does not often hear about the profusion of literary excellence in Mexico - maybe USPiM can help change that!. Thus, U.S. Poets in Mexico was born out of a desire to introduce Mexican and American poets so they may share ideas, collaborate and perhaps help dissolve misunderstandings about our cultures. In Europe, it is common for one to be aware of the literary excellence of neighboring countries. Similarly, U.S. Poets in Mexico seeks to expand literary cultural awareness between Mexico and the United States.
Since I felt in my heart that Mérida was where I belonged, I began to consider purchasing a home there and researched everything about the city. Also, I began concentrating on how a writing workshop program in Mexico might make a difference, by reaching out to Mexican poets, local audiences, awarding scholarships to local poets and by exploring Mexican culture - instead of being an isolated "American experience" while in Mexico. Not long after, I took a closer look at the cover of Elizabeth Bishop's The Complete Poems 1927-1979. I had never paid much attention to the drawing on the front cover. After squinting for some time at the lower right hand corner of the drawing (and pulling out a magnifying glass), I realized that it was Mérida in 1942, when there were still windmills all over the city. That little drawing was my guiding star. I decided at that moment to hold the workshops initially, annually in Mérida and to venture out from there to other beaches, pueblas and cities in Mexico. U.S. Poets in Mexico was founded in March 2008. Since we are a new program and our 2nd traveling program per year in May has not happened yet, we will start traveling to new cities every year (and we will definitely be back in Merida soon!)
What We Do
We bring a faculty of four or five notable poets and one emerging poet to Mexico to conduct workshops and give free public readings. Notable and emerging contemporary Mexican poets are invited to give readings and conduct workshops. I decided to award five scholarships to writers from Yucatan to participate free of charge in the workshops in order to integrate our program with the community and broaden the opportunity for collaborations. Beginning in 2010, the Mérida Fellowship Award will be awarded to one American poet (a U.S. citizen) to participate in all program activities free of charge. The Mérida Fellow will give a reading on the same evening as one of our faculty members.
We provide a supportive writers' community for our participants. Poets can expect a productive and intimate program with no more than 8 persons in each workshop. Workshops include poetry in all of its forms and manifestations and generally do not concentrate on reworking existing poems. New works and collaborations between participants, faculty and visiting readers are encouraged. With our Sunday orientation breakfast, the Sunday day trip and evening cocktail hour, everyone becomes better acquainted before workshops begin on Monday morning. By the time our second day trip rolls around, friends have been established and group camaraderie has been formed. Our first two years of workshops took place in January each year for one week in the city of Mérida.
Our journal, Pyramid, publishes poems by current participants and we hope to publish the journal with a better binding in the near future.
We arrange Spanish lessons for participants while attending the workshop week. Workshops are primarily conducted in English, with at least two bilingual faculty members each year. Featured Mexican poets will conduct bi-lingual workshops. Readings are in English and Spanish (and some indigenous languages with Spanish and English translations), with professional translations.
Post-program readings by participants and faculty are arranged in NYC and L.A. and expanding these readings to smaller cities in the U.S. will be a goal for our future.
Aside from our website pages, our quarterly email newsletters and our new blog will keep everyone abreast of our events, publications, residencies and participant and faculty news.
Visit our Event Archives section to get an overview of our January, 2009 and 2010 events.
Our upcoming Residencies in Mexico will arrange for one Mexican poet and one American poet to reside in a colonial city in Mexico in order to work together on translations of each others poems to be published in our Two Visions Series/Dos Visiones by USPiM. We will then arrange reading tours in Mexico and the United States. We will also publish chapbooks by emerging poets from both countries.
We promise an exciting exploration of the voices, minds and hearts of both nations.
Sheila Lanham, Director
U. S. Poets in Mexico
About our logo: The Maya hieroglyph AJ tz'i-b'a(aj tz'iib') (pronounced tz' éeeb) meaning "he of the writing," or "scribe"; artist's title; designates the occupation of scribe, painter, or artist in general