Poetry & Prose Cafés Autumn Showcase

Joseph Bennett :: Rosaleen Bertolino :: Leni Garetson
Eli Hans :: Gaia Schilke :: Cynthia Simmons

Café Murmullo, Ancha de San Antonio 24

Covered, Open-Air Venue

Thursday, November 17, 2022

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

by Maia Williams

Poetry and Prose Cafés are teaming up this season as we return to in-person events, and we’re thrilled to offer our first showcase of the season, November 17, in the covered, open-air courtyard of Café Murmullo, from 5PM to 6PM, featuring six of San Miguel’s finest writers sharing new work.

Joseph Bennett is a poet, podcaster, improv actor, and creativity coach. His podcast Are You Waiting for Permission has been downloaded more than 10,000 times, and his first three books have each been #1 bestsellers. His fourth book, “When in Doubt: Nearly 400 funny, insightful and irreverent ideas for what to do when you’re in doubt,” will be released in April. Five years ago, Joseph co-founded San Miguel Retreats with another of tonight’s readers, his husband, Eli Hans.

Born in San Francisco, Rosaleen Bertolino now lives in Mexico. She won the Many Voices Project Prize in 2019 for “The Paper Demon & Other Stories,” her debut collection, which was released by New Rivers Press in 2021. Her stories have recently appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, Litro, New England Review, and Orca, among many others. Co-founder and host of San Miguel Prose Café, she is working on a novel and another collection of stories.

Leni Garetson moved to San Miguel nine years ago after living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for nearly 30 years. She has been writing poetry since junior high school and during COVID lockdown renewed her lifelong passion for writing. This summer her first collection of poetry was published, My Greek Footprint, which features lively personal story, landscapes of New Mexico, and her connection with her ancestral roots in Greece.

Eli Hans is a Renaissance man. A writer, actor, director, producer, designer, singer—and recently a composer. His award-winning show “Out of The Blue – A Miraculous Musical,” is an inspiring story of hope and resilience about his cancer healing journey. Eli is co-founder of The Improv People with Joseph Bennett; he’s a life and holistic cancer coach, supporting others to create their best possible life and thrive.

Gaia Schilke is a poet and visual artist who has lived in San Miguel de Allende since 2016. A spoken word poet in NYC in the 80s & 90s, Gaia’s poetry and illustrations have been published internationally. Gaia was also the curator of reading series at The Knitting Factory and The Nuyorican Poets Cafe in NYC. Her most recent collection of poetry and illustrations, A Coney Island State of Mind, was published in 2020.

Acting brought Cynthia Simmons to New York. She toured with a one-woman show, “Sally of Monticello,” which she also wrote. In between acting jobs, she had an eclectic work history: artist in residence for Teachers and Writers, manager for vocalist Cassandra Wilson, development director of HarlemLive. When she came to SanMiguel she turned her attention to writing. She’s written numerous short stories and articles for Atención and currently is editing a book on HarlemLive’s pedagogical methods.

Admission is free but donations are gratefully accepted to support our all-volunteer organization. We present local and visiting writers, established and emerging. Books written by the presenters will be available for purchase at our no-commission pop-up Café Bookshop.

Please arrive on time, seating is limited.