TANGLED TONGUES | LENGUAS ENREDADAS

"Many of us speak Spanglish only in susurros, in casual conversations, and never legitimise it in writing beyond disappearing texts sent to family and friends. En la vida pública, we clutch these two linguistic tools entirely separate, uno en cada puño, as though their interaction would be a chemical disaster. Spanglish is not broken English, it is a way of articulating a blend of identities, crossed by languages, migration and memory." Tangled Tongues, 2023

Join us for this second season of sessions, to connect with writers working across distinct identities and in both Spanish, English, and Portuguese (as well as any other languages present in Abya Yala) with a focus on how this method of writing connects to diasporic and migrant experiences, both as a creative and a political expression. We depart from and are based within our own experiences as Latinx migrants but welcome all those working in Spanglish and other languages.

Whilst the group is flexible, we would prefer that people come to at least two of the sessions so we can develop a nice group dynamic.

Why did we create this writing group?

Despite the richness and intricacy of our work, many of us continue to write in isolation or work with editors and writers keen to correct our intentional slippages between languages. This meeting aims to connect writers from London’s Latinx diaspora, and to stimulate discussions around our creative and political practice as multilingual speakers, as well as to provide a safe space to produce new work with peers.

What will we do?

This is our second season of sessions, following a series in 2023. The evenings will begin with a reading of key source materials exploring bilingual writing, from which we can collectively draw inspiration to weave into our work through writing exercises. We will then share and provide feedback to each other. Our intention is that over the course of these gatherings, we will develop a strong, caring community of writers that can encourage and support us in our creative practice as migrants.

Who is this for?

These sessions come from our experience as migrants and interest in the creation of spaces centering Latinx diasporic experiences. We are keen to create an inclusive feminist space that centers the work and thoughts of women and gender non-conforming folks. However, we are keen to connect with anyone who has migrant heritage and is writing in SpanishEnglish, Portuguese (and other languages in Abya Yala) with the understanding that this is a space that will be critical of colonial power linked to the entangled histories of Abya Yala, Spain, Portugal and other colonial countries. All genders welcome.

This is not for those who are learning Spanish for fun and have no meaningful connection to the language or the territories where it is spoken.

What is Spanglish?

The mix between English and Spanish - we do not care if you are fluent in either language, just that you want to work and experiment across both (or already do). We want to expand this to multiple languages!

Any questions? Email anahi.saravia.herrera@gmail.com