Teaching Faculty

Cindy Williams Gutiérrez

Cindy Williams Gutiérrez is a poet, playwright, producer, and educator. Her work is inspired by the silent and silenced voices of history, herstory and her own story. In 2022, she co-produced her choreopoem In the Name of Forgotten Women, which was acclaimed by Portland’s Willamette Week as “a vibrant call for action.” Cindy’s poetry collection, Inlay with Nacre: The Names of Forgotten Women, was awarded the 2018 Willow Books Editor’s Choice Poetry Selection and a 2016 Oregon Literary Fellowship. Cindy received the 2017 Oregon Book Award for Drama for Words That Burn. She was selected by Poets & Writers Magazine as a 2014 Notable Debut Poet for the small claim of bones, which placed second in the 2015 International Latino Book Awards.

SESSION DESCRIPTION

‘The Aztecs refer to “prayer” as “word and breath.” For me, poetry is “word on breath”: we breath life into our poems by speaking them. In this poetry workshop, we will study and embody poems meant to be spoken as well as write and voice our own poems. We will draw from poetry in the Ojibwe, Aztec and Sufi traditions to explore the essence of Holden Village’s mission: forming and renewing relationships with the earth, the divine, and each other.’ -CWG

SESSION DATES
  • August 4 - August 7
    TOPICS
    • Creative Writing
    • Humanities
    • Indigenous Studies
    • Spirituality

      Education

      Holden Village is a community where your questions are valued and encouraged. Most programs led by visiting teaching faculty occur during the summer months. However, Holden also invites faculty to teach sessions for special events and retreats throughout the rest of the year.
      Check out a list of the 2024 Summer Faculty.