Testimonials
Jennifer S. from New Jersey
"USPIM Tulum was a wonderful experience-- renewing, refreshing and reinvigorating. It's more than merely what you'd expect in a workshop, it's what you hope for!"
Sean S. from Portland, Oregon
U.S. Poets in Mexico is a great vehicle for learning and applying the craft of poetry, for learning and experiencing Mexico, and having your horizons broadened about the vital work of translation. A well-organized week, with authors who are flexible towards whatever you'd like to get out of your work.
Mary K. from St. Cloud, Minnesota
Having a week to spend with other poets was a dream, and we were in a very magical place . Poetry seems to be an integral part of the Mexican people's culture, and I greatly appreciated being exposed to that. I also loved listening to all the wonderful poetry that people are writing. Jerome Rothenberg and the other poets offered knowledge and kindness. I felt that I was sitting at the foot of Olympia and taking it all in. Thank you.
2010 Merida
Don C. from Michigan
The experience was one of the best of my professional career. I would do it again tomorrow in a heartbeat. My passport is ready and I can be packed at a moment’s notice... Mérida is beautiful and the weather, despite the cold snap, was perfect for me at 70 degrees. The Hotel Caribe is a wonderful old building, located in the center of the city. Beautiful and convenient. ESAY was an inspiring location for classes – a funky art school carved out of Mérida’s original (1913) train station. The readings at the Mérida English Language Library were fine. One of the most enjoyable parts of the program was meeting so many talented and creative participants. I think that the Pyramid publication supports this. I hope to keep in touch with several because they were so interesting and productive... I was very pleased with the workshops I attended. As I mentioned at the outset, this was one of the best professional development activities that I have ever participated in. Worth every penny. I hope I will be able to participate in a future USPiM workshop sometime soon – it was really my kind of workshop and experience.
Alice J. from Texas
The US Poets in Mexico Program is a magical experience. Sheila Lanham has created something very special. She recruits both US and Mexican poets who are not only talented and well respected, but also inspirational and caring. Add a dedicated and “amiable” participant group and drop this eclectic mix of writers in lovely Merida and something quite delicious emerges. I could go on and on about how wonderful it was – but it would be best if you discover this program for yourself. Sign up now! You won’t regret it!
2009 Merida
James D. from Sacramento, California "Merida, the capital of
Yucatan, is one of my favorite cities in Mexico, so I jumped at the chance to
attend the first U.S. Poets in Mexico workshops in January 2009. The teaching
staff listed was also compelling, featuring some of the best contemporary U.S.
and Mexican poets. But there were added features that I hadn’t realized I would
also come to savor: the friendliness of all those who attended, students and
staff; the late night dinners and drinks; the helpfulness, the encouragement,
the new ideas and new viewpoints; the vibrant atmosphere that being among
talented peers can create. I’ve been to other writing workshops, but USPiM now
tops my list of inspirational settings for poets who want to learn, have fun,
and experience a beautiful city."
Teresa W. from Seattle, Washington "If you are looking for
inspiration, cultural exchange, a warm vibrant setting to meet new friends and
surround yourself with poetry, the USPiM program should be your first
destination. I enjoyed all aspects of my experience there including the
well-organized program of classes each day followed by fun nightly gatherings
to hear staff and students share their work. There were ample opportunities to
get to know students and faculty in an intimate and non-intimidating
atmosphere.In addition, Merida is a magical place, its cuisine, music and art
are added treasures to this experience. I highly recommend this program to
poets of all levels. Go, you will not be disappointed!"
"The first US Poets in Mexico workshop in Mérida, January 2009, was one of the most satisfying experiences of my literary life. The atmosphere was absolutely collegial--not a hint of hierarchy. "Faculty" and "participants" interacted as equals, and discussions were as open as one could wish for. Ditto for the social side of things: day trips, dinners, conversations with local poets and artists...no complaints here. The 2010 workshops should be equally wonderful, and there is a 100% chance of my return participation."
Jack
Collom, Boulder, CO (Faculty)
This Is Just to Say: Sheila
Lanham's U.S. Poets in Mexico program in January 2009 was a great delight: good
organization, fine students, superb supplementary activities (including
excellent bird watching), wonderful fellowship! In and around exciting Mérida!
Susie D. from Brooklyn, New York "USPiM is a wonderfully
intimate and unpretentious program.
Participants really get to know each other, the teachers, and do a lot
of writing as opposed to just workshopping old poems. My boyfriend came along last year with me and even though he
wasn't a participant the group made him feel welcome and included. USPiM also
puts an emphasis on engaging local Mexican poets as well as American poets,
resulting in a vibrant, bilingual, cultural exchange. Merida is a wonderful, safe,
non-touristy city with many things to see and do. It has great restaurants, markets, and squares and a
happening nightlife. There were
also opportunities to go on day trips to nearby ruins, cenotes, and
beaches. Sheila Lanham has created
a great, affordable writing program with something for everyone." [You can view Susie’s review
of her week in Merida in her blog at Bomb Magazine here and her numerous interviews with contemporary poets here]
Cynthia B. from the San
Francisco, California "Sheila Lanham’s organization
of the workshop was professional and her welcome warm. Our mornings were
brilliant, working in intimate groups with legendary poets. Young local poets
joined the American visitors, enlivening our perspectives. Evening readings on
the library patio paired some of the finest contemporary poets of Mexico and
the USA, trading English, Spanish, and Mayan, forms, visions and passion.
Magnificent! All levels of bilingualism (0 → total) were honored, and through
the afternoon Spanish lessons and the wordplay in workshops my language skills
expanded, in a magic-realist landscape (art institute housed in a deco train
station, bomb-bright colors of the heladería, rioting jackdaws, cumbias in the
street and a world beat disco, pyramids [13 doors facing East carved with flowers, 9 doors facing West adorned with skulls and owls], lagoon of mangroves
[pygmy kingfisher (turquoise) diving and 10,000 (tangelo) flamingos rising])
new ways and means of poetry brewed…I returned home with enough assignments,
reading suggestions and inspiration to last years, as well as an extended
community of poet friends. I’ll
return to a USPiM workshop asap."
Ileanna P. from Southern California
"If you're looking for the opportunity to travel, be inspired by a foreign place, and be challenged to extend your boundaries and write better, then I suggest you look into US Poets in Mexico. The program attracts established and important writers, who expose you to new ideas, seriously look at your work and comment on it, and inspire you with mini lectures and exercises that vary widely among the faculty. There is a level of camaraderie between the faculty and students that allows you to get to new places in your work with them, because they are not there to intimidate you. I especially appreciated the day trips to the mangroves and the ancient ruins, which enriched my experience and helped me relax. The experience revitalized my writing thanks to the helpful faculty and the beautiful scenery."