Inspiration in México

I have been in Oaxaca for two days now attending the Gozo Writers’ Retreat. It’s hosted by Michelle Otero, who is the former Albuquerque Poet Laureate and a gifted teacher, and Suzanne Barbezat, an author and lovely guide and human being who lives in Oaxaca.

This is my first time in México since you had to use a passport to enter the country, and that was a long time ago—pre 9/11. I obtained my very first passport specifically for this trip, which I am categorizing as a trip for work because publishing creative writing counts toward tenure. And oh my goodness, I am definitely generating new material through prompts Michelle gives us. I also plan to make time to revise and submit older work as well.

Wax mold that I carved using metal tools and the flame of a gas candle.

Before the trip, when I told some folks I was headed to Oaxaca, people who knew the city told me, “You’ll love it there!” And it’s beautiful here.

Every day during the retreat, we write in the morning, then we attend a writing workshop after that. After lunch, which is usually at some delicious local place with colorful moles and tortillas, we journey into Oaxaca to engage in other artistic activities to help us develop our creative sides. Yesterday, we went to a silversmith’s studio, owned by María Jose Soruco, and carved pendants from wax. On Friday, I will see the final product, but I am including a picture of what I carved to the right.

Being here, I am definitely filled with so much gratitude for the life I am currently living. I never would have thought one year ago— almost to the day that I moved out of my house with my husband—that I would have the opportunity to create art I will develop as part of my tenure packet in a gorgeous foreign city in a community of talented, kind, and gracious women writers. So many things are beautiful here, even the mature trees jutting their knuckled roots out from under the uneven sidewalks.

Hello life.