December 11, 2024

On November 14, four students from visiting faculty member in Spanish Lena Retamoso Urbano’s Creative Writing in Spanish class represented Bennington’s Cultural Studies and Languages Program at the First International Multilingual Creative Writing Conference in New York. The conference celebrates rich cultural and intellectual diversity within the realm of creative writing at the international level. 

Andrea Lara ’26, from North Brunswick, New Jersey, studies Biology and Latin American Studies along with Creative Writing. She had never submitted a conference proposal before but, at Retamoso’s suggestion, she and her classmates prepared and submitted their idea: a panel called "Metamorphizing the Mask: Cuerpos e Identidades Contemporáneos a Través de la Poesía," which translates to "Contemporary Bodies and Identities Through Poetry." The panel would focus on their experiences as Gen Z Latines growing up in the U.S. and how these aspects of their upbringing have shaped the themes they explore in their writing. 

“I unexpectedly received the acceptance email in mid-September during an evening study session with a friend,” said Lara. “It was an absolutely incredible moment. I immediately rushed to write out an email to notify the other group members.” 

Students credit Retamoso, who also presented at the conference, with the mentorship they needed to improve. “Lena is an incredibly supportive instructor who works very carefully with each one of us, giving us adequate feedback to ensure we can produce the best work we can in this class,”  said Lara. Retamoso, they note, also took care of the logistics, like funding to cover expenses such as registration fees and transportation, with the help of the Bennington Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Academic Services; and Cultural Studies and Languages. 

“As a poet-scholar, offering this Creative Writing in Spanish class, at the advanced level, for the very first time in the Cultural Studies and Languages curriculum, has been a dream come true,” said Retamoso. “And having the opportunity to attend this conference accompanied by four first-generation Latine students that were part of this class is a memory that I will always treasure.” 

They chose to focus on poetry and workshopped their pieces in small peer-led groups in class. Comments from their classmates helped them revise and share their creative styles. Ashley Alonso ’25, from Chicago, said, “I typically don’t write poetry. I usually write in prose or in the screenwriting format. Overall, this experience challenged me and led to an increase in my confidence as a writer.”

During their 90-minute panel, each student presented three or four poems. Each “explored the idea of feeling like you're either too much of one side or never enough of the other,” said Alex Ash Azul López ’27, from Los Angeles. Zey continued, “[The poems address] the ongoing questions of identity, the experience of being part of Generation Z as compared with the older generations in our families, and how, often, we feel the need to mask ourselves or form a ‘mask’ to navigate both American and Latine identities—especially living in the U.S.”

“Andrea, Alex, Ashley, and Jules read a selection of their compelling poems and stood out as a group of students extremely well-prepared,” said Retamoso. “Their poems evince a deep exploration, both at a formal and content level, about what it means to live between two cultures and languages.”

While reading their own poems and listening to others’, López learned the dramatic difference between reading silently compared with reading for an audience. “I had prepared my poems and knew exactly what I needed to say, but I didn’t realize how important it was to adjust the intensity of certain words or lines when presenting aloud.” 

“I loved hearing about emerging and established writers' processes,” said Alonso. “Each panelist presented something completely different. I gained exposure to new genres and writing forms. For example, Pedro Poitevin’s approach to experimental poetry opened my eyes! He’s a mathematician, and the way he weaves math into his bilingual poems is fascinating.”

Students engaged with others in the literary field and learned about their ongoing work. “We met publishers and other like-minded creatives who commented that it was a promising thing to see young Latine writers carry on the torch, especially in an industry that is historically and predominantly white-dominated,” said Jules Guzmán ’25, from Palm Springs, California. “The need for diversity and inclusion in spaces such as these is something that we discussed during our Q&A and why writing, whether for enjoyment or for cause, is the sole way to push past binaries and disparities in the arts.”

Attending the conference held different meanings to each of the students. “My time at the conference has taught me that I should have confidence in my abilities and creative voice and to trust the effort I put into them,” said Lara. 

“I felt proud to present and to be part of such a meaningful experience, and sharing that moment with my classmates was truly wonderful,” said López. 

“It makes me hopeful for doing creative work in the future because now I know that the people who listen and understand these collective experiences will champion each others’ deserved advancement and inclusion,” said Guzmán. 

Retamoso said, “I can not express enough how proud I am of them for preparing this panel and bringing the best of themselves to this international gathering of renowned and emerging writers and poets from the most diverse backgrounds.”