In the literary world, contests, anthologies and competition for prizes make up a big part of how artists get recognized. But the members of Círculo de Poetas & Writers are focused on something else: amplifying multilingual, multicultural voices.
According to Dr. Adela Najarro, Círculo’s executive director and board president, many national events succumb to false hierarchies by implying that art can be ranked universally. And when the competition is dominated by white artists, this implies that the “best” writers must be white.
“Our answer has always been that these hierarchies are artificial. If you start questioning this idea of who is the ‘best’ … you realize it’s based on personal taste—art is relative,” Najarro explains.
Since 2015, Círculo’s main mission as an organization has been to create a supportive community of writers without hierarchies or judgment. “What we can do differently is acknowledge that we’re all in this together,” Najarro says. “We want to talk to each other and support each other and build with each other to help us find joy in the written word and to share that and build. That seems real.”
This year, Círculo was selected by the Library of America as a program partner in the publication of the anthology Latino Poetry: Places We Call Home.
Najarro explains the significance of the new anthology, which comes out Sept. 3. “A national publication like the Library of America making an anthology called Latino Poetry,” Najarro points out, is “saying that Latino poetry is part of the U.S. American landscape.”
Círculo will host two different events—partially funded by a grant from the Library of America—to celebrate the release of the anthology. The events are a collaboration with Cabrillo College, the Watsonville Public Library and Letras Latinas, the literary initiative at the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies.
The first event will be Círculo’s Summer Conference, held on two dates: one in-person and one online. The in-person conference will take place Aug. 17 at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. The Zoom conference is scheduled for Aug. 24.
The following month, a panel discussion at Cabrillo College’s Samper Recital Hall will explore the theme “Bringing the National and Local Together.” “What the Library of America is doing with this national volume, our event is trying to bring in the local perspective,” Najarro says.
Representation of all people within the art community is key to understanding the entire history of a place, she explains. “It’s through art that we say ‘this is our community, this is our culture, this is who we are as Santa Cruz County.’”
Taking place Sept. 12 from 6 to 9pm the panel consists of two authors featured in the Library of America anthology—Lorna Dee Cervantes and Blas Falconer—as well as Dr. Vicky Bañales, a member of Cabrillo’s English faculty, and Christopher Rendon, a former poetry workshop attendee at Cabrillo.
Although 90% of Circulo’s members and participants are Latino, Najarro emphasizes that the events are open to everyone.
“We want to hear the Black voice, the White voice, Asian voice, Native American voice, everybody. That’s how you break these hierarchies; Instead of putting everybody in their own camp, you can relish in the differences that make everybody unique,” she says.
To learn more about Círculo de Poetas & Writers or sign up for an event, visit circulowriters.com.
