The Poetics of Latin American Resistance: “Yo Vengo a Ofrecer Mi Poema / I Come to Offer My Poem”
Current Latin American poetry – an invitation to resistance.
This year, maybe more than ever, poetry can feel like a salve, a balm against doomscrolling, an invitation to disconnect. While turning off Instagram is surely a great idea, can we stay connected in another way? Poetry is ancient; it is communal. It is a connective force and a vital weapon. In this course, we’ll examine the poetry of resistance in 5 countries in Latin America. Each session will focus on a different country and a different contemporary conflict:
- Protests Against Maduro, Venezuela, 2017
2. Estallido Social (Social Uprising), Chile, 2019
3. 73 Years of Violence, Colombia, 2021
4. Anarcho-Capitalism (Resisting Milei), Argentina, 2024
5. Resisting Erasure (Quechua poetry), Perú, 1990-2025
Each time, participants will receive a packet with some background information on the socio–political reality of each country, and a brief array of poems by different poets writing from within the resistance. These poems will be portals, and we’ll find different ways to understand them, asking: What does it mean to resist in a poem? How do these poets use their words as a force? What does the political context do to the language, and how does that translate into English?
Sometimes, we’ll be looking at real translation issues (most of this work is untranslated into English), digging into the impossibilities (and unexpected possibilities) of language. No matter what, each poet’s portal will bring us into our own work.
All poems will be given to students in Spanish and in English. A specific writing prompt, connected to the reading, will be given for each session.
5 fortnightly sessions over 10 weeks, starting 13 May 2025. No live chats. Suitable for UK & International students.
Concessions & Accessibility
To apply for a concessionary rate, please send relevant documentation showing your eligibility for one of our concessions to [email protected]. Conditions of eligibility are detailed here. If you have any questions or wish to be added to the waiting list of a sold-out course, please email [email protected]. For more information visit our Online Courses page.
Image credit: @rodmantgt
About Rebecca Levi 
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Rebecca Levi is a poet, translator, musician, and educator based in the Rivers Region of Chile. Originally from New York City, she studied comparative literature at Yale University and poetry with Robert Pinsky at Boston University. Her poems and translations have been published in journals such as Columbia Journal and No Tokens Magazine, by Princeton University Press and Broadstone Books, and in The Times Literary Supplement as a runner-up of the Mick Imlah Poetry Prize. Rebecca composes and performs folk, rock, and experimental music, often in collaboration with dance and performance. She has been an educator for seventeen years, with a focus in youth orchestra, early childhood music, and creative writing, and her teaching has taken her around the world, from Peru to Colombia to India. Rebecca teaches in English, Spanish, and Italian.
"I have attended loads of the Poetry School courses and, as I live in Portugal, they have been vital to help me improve my writing. They are also important in helping me to feel part of a poetry community."
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