Allen Ginsburg

by Catherine Marenghi

It's an old and oft-repeated story: An artist, a writer, or just a casual visitor steps foot in San Miguel de Allende and feels compelled to stay. Something about the city captivates them – its unspoiled colonial architecture, its warm colors, its gentle climate. Some insist the town rests on a bed of rose quartz, making it a spiritual vortex. While there's no confirmation of this geology, many insist the town has a unique magnetic pull. But there's no doubt that all these claims contribute to a healthy tourism industry!

However, for poets and artists of all kinds, the attraction is much simpler. There's a concentration of like-minded creative people who support and encourage each other, as well as a culturally literate population that loves and actively supports the arts. These factors make the city a welcome and often inspiring place for poets who live, work, and visit here.

Sandra Cisneros
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The list of poets who have either lived in San Miguel or stayed briefly is considerable:

• Sandra Cisneros, current resident, best known for her novel The House on Mango Street as well as the poetry books My Wicked Wicked Ways, Loose Woman, and Woman Without Shame.

• Jennifer Clement, current resident, acclaimed for her memoir Widow Basquiat and the novel Prayers for the Stolen and poetry collections New and Selected Poems, The Next Stranger, Newton's Sailor, and Lady of the Broom, each published in bilingual editions in Mexico. She also co-founded San Miguel Poetry Week, which attracted world-class poets for more than two decades.

Jennifer Clement
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• Margaret Atwood, frequent visitor, often sighted in local bookstores and featured at local conferences and events, widely acclaimed for her novel The Handmaid's Tale, but also the author of several poetry books including Paper Boat and Selected Poems 1961-2023, Dearly, and Morning in the Burned House.

• Judyth Hill, internationally celebrated for her poem "Wage Peace," former resident, frequent visitor, popular teacher and writing coach at the San Miguel Writers' Conference, and author of Dazzling Wobble, Writing Down the Moon, Men Need Space, A Presence of Angels, and other poetry books.

• W.D. Snodgrass (William DeWitt Snodgrass, 1926–2009), former resident, prominent American poet and winner of the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, famously associated with the Confessional poetry movement along with Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, and Anne Sexton.

WD Snodgrass
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• Beat Poets including Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassady, frequent visitors along with other beat writers in the 1960s. Ginsberg dedicated his poem "Howl" to Cassady, who died in San Miguel under tragic and mysterious circumstances in 1968.

• Carmen Tafolla, Mexican-American poet who has appeared at San Miguel literary festivals and is known for her bilingual poetry that resonates with both Mexican and U.S. audiences.

• Tomás Segovia (1927–2011), Spanish-Mexican poet who frequently visited San Miguel and was recognized as a major poetic voice in postwar Mexico.

• Alma Luz Villanueva, an award-winning poet and novelist, who made San Miguel her home after a three-day drive from Santa Fe as a woman in her sixties, leaving behind all material possessions. San Miguel inspired her poem "Gracias," the title of one of her many poetry books.

Margarito Ledesma
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• Margarito Ledesma (1887-1974), the pseudonym of Leobino Zavala Camarena, a local educator and poet. His 1950 publication Poesías and the posthumous Tradiciones y leyendas sanmiguelenses capture the folklore and traditions of San Miguel. A street in colonia Guadalupe is named for him.

And this short list does not include the panoply of poets who have spoken at local literary festivals and events, including the San Miguel Writers' Conference, San Miguel PEN, the San Miguel Poetry and Prose Café, the Poetry Mesa, San Miguel Poetry Week, and FELISMA, the Spanish-language literary festival and book fair of San Miguel. That list includes Rita Dove, Richard Blanco, Billy Collins, Joy Harjo, Juan Felipe Herrera, Kaveh Akbar, and countless others.

Margaret Atwood
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Ancestral Roots

Some would say this creative exuberance is rooted in the ancient spirit of the town's natives, especially the Chichimecas, who successfully resisted Spanish colonization in its early stages (1550-1590), and whose fierce spirit was critically important in the War of Mexican Independence from Spain in the early 1800s. Thanks in large part to their participation, San Miguel was the first Mexican town to declare independence from Spain.

The Chichimecas were both warriors and poets. Their poetry would have been ceremonial and spiritual, rooted in nature, cosmology, and ancestral rituals. Sadly, because their poetic tradition was mostly oral, this poetry has been either lost or only partially preserved.

With the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, San Miguel soon became a colonial stronghold. Religious and baroque literature, including poetry with Catholic themes, began to take hold, often created by clergy or scholars associated with the Church. These early writings were usually in Spanish and followed traditional European poetic forms.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
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By the 19th century, poetry in San Miguel began to reflect broader Mexican trends, especially romanticism and nationalism during and after the War of Independence (1810–1821), in which San Miguel played a major role. Local poets were inspired by figures like Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1651-1695) – the fiery feminist poet and scholar who was the first published Mexican poet – and Manuel Acuña (1849-1873), whose themes included love, patriotism, and nature.

The 20th Century saw a cultural boom following the Mexican Revolution, especially from the 1920s-1940s. It was a resurgence of interest in national identity and indigenous heritage. This period marked a revitalization of the arts across Mexico, including poetry.

It was in the period that San Miguel began to attract artists and intellectuals from the USA and Canada. The first U.S. settler to leave an indelible mark on the arts scene was American artist Stirling Dickinson, who settled in San Miguel in the 1930s. He fell in love with the sight of La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel and decided to stay and 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.

It was in 1940s and 1950s that San Miguel became a haven for expatriate artists, writers, and poets. This was fueled by institutions like Escuela Universitaria de Bellas Artes, founded in 1938, as well as Instituto Allende, founded in 1950. San Miguel was emerging as the cultural heart of Mexico, drawing poets who blended English-language literary traditions with Mexican influences.

Today, San Miguel de Allende continues to have a thriving poetry scene, with live readings, poetry slams, festivals, lectures, and informal writing groups. A mix of Mexican poets and resident foreign writers contribute to an eclectic and constantly evolving poetic voice.

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Catherine Marenghi is a local poet, novelist and memoirist who has been active in the San Miguel literary scene for more than a decade. She has published three poetry books, a memoir, and a historic novel. A native of Massachusetts, she has made San Miguel her permanent home.

www.marenghi.com

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