Looking Back at 20 Years of Letras Latinas: Natalia Treviño

Last fall, I was invited to present my poetry with other Latinx poets at the amazing Ever Ancient, Ever New Catholic Imagination Conference held at the University of Notre Dame and sponsored by the Di Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture. In preparation for our panel, "4 Poetas: A Letras Latinas Reading and Conversation," I spent a considerable amount of time with the rich and diverse poetry of my brilliant fellow panelists: Gina Franco, Sarah Cortez, and Adela Najarro, who I now consider my friends, my community, and whose poetry is now deeply woven into my field of vision as a poet. Poetry assists with the articulation of the mysterious spiritual world many of us inhabit, whether it is through a resonant song during a particularly pressing life event, a phrase or expression that works as a family legacy, or a ceremonial text that assists with a sacred struggle, celebration, or the complex act of developing an awareness of an inner life. This event with Letras Latinas has enlightened my spiritual world and enlarged my inner life. There is no other way I would have had the time or the access to became friends with a priest, a deacon, and a brother who each helped me during my visit with complex questions about my faith. There is no other place where I could have had the ample time to develop a very close and important relationship with the Nicaraguan poet, Adela Najarro. I know my DNA and spiritual tendencies are woven into the ever-ancient root system of humanity, but my poetry will be ever new as a result of this experience. 

— Natalia Treviño