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Our January master classes are now full. See you next year!

Community of the Imagination

Bringing readers and writers together across borders...

Every year, Under the Volcano presents a series of live curated conversations with leading poets, novelists, journalists and scientists, designed to inspire our participants to move their ideas onto a bigger canvas. These events, open to a wider public, allow us to transcend the limits of geography and to make our mission ever more inclusive. 

We are deeply grateful to the extraordinary guests who bring their voices to these special encounters.

Poets lead the way...

Four distinguished poets—Cyrus Cassells (US), Rita Dove (US), Ilya Kaminsky (US/ Ukraine) and Carolyn Forché (US)—offer words to feed the soul and fire the imagination.

Highlights from Community of the Imagination 2021

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Community of the Imagination 2022

In what feels like a period shaped by the forces of tyranny and misinformation, how can writing illuminate a path ahead, not only for ourselves but for our communities? Through three interconnected conversations, panelists navigate their different literary genres—journalism, fiction and literary non-fiction—with that question in mind.

Community of the Imagination 2021

Under the Volcano has always been about community; thanks to the pandemic, our community was reborn online. We took to Zoom like ducks to water, holding a series of linked conversations that brought writers and readers closer in a time of collective trauma.  Under the Volcano was honored to have four extraordinary poets—Cyrus Cassells, Ilya Kaminsky, Rita Dove and Carolyn Forché raise the curtain on five days of talks with leading scientists, journalists and novelists from Mexico, the US, Argentina, the Philippines and India.

in their own words

Testimonials

Great teaching meets committed writers–it’s an unbeatable combination! 

Ann Stanford

Chicago

I have never felt so supported to achieve what I want. I “leave” this experience with my heart filled with joy, with my brain like a Christmas tree, full of new ideas, and with a sense that I have finally met my tribe.

María Mínguez

Bay Area/Spain

UTV fue un detonador de ideas y conexiones. Llegué con una idea y volví a casa con la tercera parte de un libro. 

Sylvia Aguilar Zéleny

El Paso, Texas

“When I was feeling overwhelmed at the sheer talent and accomplishments of the faculty, a fellow writing student said to me, “The only difference between them and us is time.”

Martha Morrison

Toronto, Canada

“UTV is more than a learning experience set against a powerful landscape… it offers a mental space for creativity.”

Daniel Escoto

Mexico City
Community of the Imagination - Under The Volcano