Since 1997, Donna has been conducting writing tours in Oaxaca, Mexico. What follows is an excerpt from an article about the Oaxaca retreats in Art Matters, A Quarterly Advocacy Journal of the Nevada County Arts Council:
…Even before I pick up my pen to write the first re-entry poems, I have been transported to the source: the place where anything can happen, where just thinking makes it so, where ideas and images are freed from the mire of daily concerns. Even before the retreat group has gathered, before the on-site studios (tours) have begun, before we are fully engaged in our art, Oaxaca has graced us with our own, sometimes forgotten, ability to imagine and to make life new.
Morning at the retreat villa is bright with the vibration of magenta bougainvillea set against a sunny, verdant landscape. The swimming pool is tempting but still too cool for a plunge. The most hardy of the group are out exploring the hills before the early morning writing practice, the rest of us are drinking the smooth rich coffee grown in the jungles of Huatulco on the nearby Pacific Coast. The conversation is easy, excited; even I, who have spent many months in this place over the past five years, feel the thrill that accompanies sheer beauty.
….We are enthralled with the grand scale of Monte Alban, and delight in the design, formation, and color of the stone itself. At the evening discussion, everyone is invited to read from their day’s writing: we talk about dialogue, spirits, rock, Aztecs, mole amarillo, and Pablo Neruda. The air is humming—this new (to us) and ancient place has brought new spirit to our writing. The retreat is working! That night sleep comes quickly only to send me flying like a super hero poet with black cape back to Monte Alban, where I circle the ball court three times to watch the teacherous game, before speeding home to my Mexican bed of ordinary dreams. Where will I be in the morning?
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I am not a writer who teaches on the side; I have always equally enjoyed and valued writing and teaching, and so what I most love about an intensive retreat is that I have the opportunity to focus on the art of teaching. The usual limitations of the two-hour class or the six-hour workshop are gone and I am available all day to discuss formally and informally, in group or privately, all aspects of the art and life of writing. Many participants take advantage of my availability to work on manuscripts-in-progress; others are content with developing new writing on a daily basis through practices, ‘studios’ and classes. There is no right or wrong way to retreat; each of us finds our own best method….
—Donna Hanelin, Winter 2003
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