Write On! Is San Miguel The New Algonquin Round Table?

By Catherine Marenghi

When you think of places that attract the world’s top writers, you might think of Paris in the 1920s, Dublin, or New York. Or you might recall the famous Algonquin Round Table, a group of literary figures who met daily at the Algonquin Hotel, New York, in the 1920s and 1930s. Also known as the Vicious Circle, the group included Dorothy Parker, George S. Kaufman, and Robert Benchley, as well as occasional members like Noël Coward.

Who would imagine that a small city in the middle of México might emerge as the next Algonquin Round Table?

Consider that in the space of just one recent week, you could attend a standing-room-only San Miguel Poetry and Prose Café, a silent writing group at the Biblioteca Publica, a reading by four accomplished memoirists at the Casa de la Noche, and the opening keynote address by bestseller Abraham Verghese at the San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Literary Festival.

Where did this richness come from? The 20^th Century saw a cultural boom across México following the Mexican Revolution. There was a resurgence of interest in national identity and indigenous heritage, sparking a revitalization of the arts.This is when San Miguel began to attract artists and intellectuals from around the world. One American artist who left an indelible mark was Stirling Dickinson, who settled in San Miguel in the 1930s. He fell in love with the town and decided to launch an art school. In 1938 Dickinson was appointed director of the Escuela Universitaria de Bellas Artes in San Miguel. He actively promoted the school, and many more artists and writers would follow. The next influx of expats came with the U.S. soldiers settling here to heal in the post-WWII years and to take advantage of the GI Bill for their art education. San Miguel increasingly became a haven for expatriate artists, writers, and poets, emerging as the cultural heart of México.

Allen Ginsberg visited and taught at Instituto Allende in the 1950s. Poet Margarito Ledesma lived and wrote in San Miguel and died here in 1974. Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.D. Snodgrass began visiting and writing here in 1983. Mary Oliver, Margaret Atwood, Jennifer Clement, Billy Collins, Judyth Hill and Sandra Cisneros are just a few of the writers who visited or lived here.

The literary scene got a major boost when Susan Page, an author-turned-mover-and-shaker, moved to San Miguel in 2002. Two years later she launched the San Miguel Literary Sala, the umbrella organization that created the Writers’ Conference, monthly author readings, the San Miguel Poetry Café (which later merged with the San Miguel Prose Café), the Solamente en San Miguel literary anthologies, book fairs, works-in-progress readings, and countless literary happenings.

Attending this year’s San Miguel Writers’ Conference from February 11^th-15^th along with 1,750 attendees, this writer encountered a beehive of activity at the Hotel Real de Minas, where writers of all stripes and lovers of great writing gathered to hear from the experts and from each other. In addition to an all-star lineup of keynotes that culminated with Margaret Atwood on the 15^th, workshops hummed with world-renown authors, and open-mic readings drew beginners and seasoned authors alike.

Some highlightsof the Conference:

Sandra Cisneros, famed author of The House on Mango Street, shared her eclectic advice to her younger self in the form of 20 tips, including: “take lovers” and thereby “discover the infinite”; defend those unable to defend themselves; aim towards self-sufficiency in everything, especially joy; give thanks every morning, every night; and “the Beatles were right: All you need is love.”

Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone and Covenant of Water, spoke movingly of how books like W. Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage inspired his career both as a writer and as a doctor.

Jennifer Clement, author of Prayers for the Stolen and many other works, told of D.H. Lawrence’s history in México and how it intersected with the work of PEN México. She also described PEN International’s transformation from defending journalists to defending poets – both groups require protection as they bear witness to global injustice.

San Miguel de Allende has an ever-evolving literary community, with live readings, festivals, lectures, and informal writing groups. A mix of Mexicans and resident foreigners contribute to an eclectic and constantly evolving literary voice: the New Algonquin.

Catherine Marenghi is author of five books and is an active memberof the San Miguel literary scene.