Literary Talks & Readings
Welcome to SMC! Have you wanted to listen to intriguing stories? Meet and talk with fascinating, creative artists? Enjoy poetry and richness of language? It has been a regular feature of life at SMC—every semester for the last 22 years. We have the opportunity to listen to a wide variety of award-winning authors who want to share their art and experience with the students. Usually, during the Activity Hour (11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Tuesday/Thursday), when most students do not have classes. And they are free and open to everyone. This semester, the Literary Series is on Zoom. So, these wonderful sessions are only a few clicks away on a computer screen near you. Tell your friends and relatives about these events. All of you are most heartily welcome.
This series is made possible by generous support of the SMC Associates.
SMC Literary Series Spring 2025
Yosimar Reyes
“Venimos A Triunfar” (“We Came to Be Triumphant”)
Join us for an insightful presentation by Santa Clara County Poet Laureate Yosimar
Reyes on how his poetry is inspired by his community. His goal, as the first undocumented
poet to reach this position, is to help people find poetry in their everyday lives.
Reyes was chosen to be a 2024 Creative Ambassador by the City of San Jose, The Advocate
named him one of “13 LGBT Latinos Changing the World,” and Remezcla included him in
“10 Up And Coming Latinx Poets You Need To Know.” Reyes has been awarded a NALAC Catalyst
for Change Grant, a Gerbode Foundation Grant, and most recently, a Walter & Elise
Haas Creative Work Fund Grant. His writing has appeared in numerous publications,
including Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry; Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic
Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings; and the forthcoming UndocuPoetics. Following the presentation, Reyes will lead “Documenting Joy: A Writing Workshop”
from 1 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. in the nearby Student Equity Center (Lower Level, Cayton
Center). Hosted by the SMC Associates, SMC Dream Resource Center, Dream Program, Student
Equity Center, Ethnic Studies program/SMC History Department, Adelante/Latino Center,
Black Collegians/UMOJA, and EOPS/CARE. Sponsored by The SMC Associates and Student
Equity Center.
Thursday, April 3 | 11:15 a.m. | Free | Humanities & Social Science (HSS 165)
José Pablo Barragán Nieto
Finding nuestra voz!
Award-winning poet José Pablo Barragán will lead a hands-on poetry workshop that explores
several poems by well-known Latine authors on the topics of mixed identity, migration,
and belonging. Participants will have a chance to write and share their own poems
written in English, Spanglish, and/or Spanish. Barragán teaches Spanish languages
and cultures at Temple University and has co-organized numerous poetry festivals in
the US and Spain. He is a skilled translator who has published numerous academic works,
and the author of three collections of poetry. His most recent book, Tarea de español (2023), won the prestigious 34th José Hierro International Poetry Prize. His previous
collections, Lugares comunes (2008) and La Nave (2012), were also well received by readers and reviewers alike. Sponsored by the SMC
Associates and SMC Modern Languages and Cultures Department.
Tuesday, April 8 | 11:15 a.m. | Free | Online, Join José Pablo Barragán Nieto on Zoom