Write On! Pleasures Of Reading At San Miguel Writers’ Conference

By Catherine Marenghi

The annual San Miguel Writers’ Conference and Literary Festival, despite its name, is not just for writers. Several years ago, the conference added a Pleasures of Reading category to its workshop offerings. Unlike other workshop offerings, these do not focus on structured learning, lectures, or exercises. Their only purpose is to enjoy the sheer pleasure of reading.

The program features world-class authors. Judyth Hill, a poet and teacher who will lead the Pleasures of Reading session “The Shamanic Origins of Poetry: The Poem as Incantation, Invocation & Deep Earth Magic!”  has been a popular teacher at the Conference for many years. “So many of us were taught poetry that featured mostly white male poets of recent centuries. But poetry has ancient and very feminine roots. It was originally about magic, spells, and healing. The first known poet was Enheduanna, the high priestess of the moon god Nanna in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. And that ancient sacred tradition is still alive,” Hill says. Hill’s session will return to poetry’s shamanic roots. “Once chanted by firelight, sung for rain, and carved into clay, poetry has enacted rituals of earth magic, healing, and deep wisdom,” she explains.

Jennifer Clement, the acclaimed author of Prayers for the Stolen, Widow Basquiat, The Promised Party, and several collections of poetry, will be leading the Pleasures of Reading session “D.H. Lawrence and PEN México.” The talk will reveal how México first adopted the ideals of freedom of expression and a literary world without borders—principles established in London by PEN International in 1921. In 1923, these ideals were realized when Lawrence visited México and met with PEN México’s founding members, inspiring new views of Mexican culture. During stays in Chapala, México City, and Oaxaca—supported by PEN México—Lawrence wrote The Plumed Serpent, Mornings in México, and many poems, all shaped by Mexican landscapes, culture and indigenous mythologies, according to Clement, who is also President Emeritus of PEN International.

“I love this part of the program because reading is the most important part of becoming a writer. As a writer and reader, I'm interested in influences. In this year’s Pleasures of Reading, I will explore the influence, a kind of literary DNA, of Emily Brontë on Juan Rulfo and Rulfo on Gabriel García Marquez,” Clement states.

A highlight of the Pleasures of Reading program will be “Art Above Everything: A Conversation Between Sandra Cisneros and Stephanie Elizondo Griest." This session poses the question, “Is the all-encompassing quest to become a self-sustaining artist worth the sacrifices it requires?” Sandra Cisneros, the iconic author of The House on Mango Street and many other books, will explore this question with the author of Art Above Everything, Stephanie Elizondo Griest, who spent a decade traveling the globe, asking legendary women artists for their perspectives.

Other Pleasures of Reading sessions include:

From Fact to Fiction with Martin Fletcher. Describing his transition to writing fiction and nonfiction, Fletcher will draw broader lessons on the art of storytelling. After decades of rigorous fact-checking, he discovered that historical fiction is as demanding as daily news reporting.

Decoding Abraham Verghese: The Secrets of a Physician-Author, by Vineeth John. This session will explore what makes Verghese’s voice so distinctive. Through guided discussion, selected excerpts, and shared reflections, the session will examine key themes: the body as text, the power of observation, and language that heals as much as it reveals.

A US/Mexican Cultural Super Highway Built on Latino Joy, by Rey Rodriguez. In an age of mass deportations, attacks on due process, and blatant racism, Chicanos and their allies are building a “cultural superhighway” between the U.S. and México. Now is the time to flood the zone with the richness of Mexican and Chicano art, literature, poetry, and culture from both sides of the border, to enter the ream of Latino Joy.

A Literary Kaleidoscope: Reflections on The Satanic Verses, by Jaina Sanga. This lecture will examine Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses for its literary merit while also exploring controversies surrounding the novel, and how Rushdie manages narrative strands across nearly 600 pages, maintaining plot momentum and linguistic nuances.

More information on the San Miguel Writers' Conference, which will run February 11^th-15^th, 2026, may be found atsanmiguelwritersconference.org

Catherine Marenghi is a poet, novelist and journalist who has published five books and is active in San Miguel’s literary community.