Students from the Creative Writing in Spanish course will read poems and exhibit drawings produced during the semester at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 4. The public reading will take place at the World Languages and Digital Humanities Studio (JBHT 207). Light refreshments will be served.

The pieces students will present cover topics such as mourning, belonging, anxiety, depression, friendship and love. Students will reflect on how their experience in this class and how creative writing, but also art in general, can be a safe space to address and transform difficult emotions and feelings.

"This semester, our course delved into the healing and transformative power of the written word. Students learned to write their own poetry and stories in Spanish and met great Latin American authors while reclaiming their inner voice and their power to co-create realities," said Erika Almenara, who teaches in the Department of World Languages, Literature and Cultures.

The Creative Writing in Spanish course, created by Almenara, an associate professor of Spanish, director of the Comparative and Cultural Studies program and a published Latin American author, introduces students to basic skills and tools needed to be a creative writer in Spanish.

In August and November of 2023, Almenara received funding from Fulbright Peru to conduct a project at two Peruvian female jails. This project entailed leading a poetry workshop at Santa Monica and Virgen de Fátima prisons. Also, in July 2025, she led a creative writing workshop with 17 male inmates at the Miguel Castro Castro Peruvian prison. These experiences provided her with a brief opportunity to see the healing power of the creative process to enhance wellbeing.