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"Poems are pleasure first: bodily pleasure, a deliciousness of the senses.
Mostly, poems end by saying something (even the un-sayable), but they start as the body's joy, like making love.”
— Donald Hall, from Breakfast Served Anytime All Day
Writer, poet and immigrant rights activist, Demetria Martinez was born and raised in Albuquerque. Her most recent book, released in 2025, and coauthored with Susan Sherman, is titled Poetry in Dangerous Times: Two Women, Two Worlds. The book, published by Casa Urraca Press, opens with a dialogue about art and activism among other topics and includes a collection of poetry by both authors.
Martinez earned a BA from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs from Princeton University and went on to pursue a career as a religion reporter for the National Catholic Reporter and the Albuquerque Journal. Her books include three poetry collections, The Devil’s Workshop (2002), Breathing Between The Lines (1997), and Turning (1987), which appeared in an anthology of three Chicana poets.
She is the author of the novella, The Block Captain’s Daughter, a recipient of the 2013 American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation, and the widely translated novel, Mother Tongue (1994) which won a Western States Book Award. The novel was inspired by her 1988 indictment on charges of conspiring to smuggle Central American refugees into the United States; she was later acquitted on First Amendment grounds. In 2013 she coauthored an ebook with former Oklahoma Senator Fred Harris, These People Want to Work: Immigration Reform. Her essay collection, Confessions of a Berlitz-Tape Chicana (2005) won an International Latino Book Award. She has been a recipient of the Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino Literature. With Rosalee Montoya-Read, she coauthored Grandpa’s Magic Tortilla (2010), which won a New Mexico Book Awards’ Young Readers Book Award.
Martinez lives in La Cienega, New Mexico with her wife, their hens, goats and dogs.
Jules Nyquist, Ph.D., is the founder of Jules’ Poetry Playhouse in Placitas, NM. Her recent award-winning books are Atomic Paradise, Homesick, then, and The Sestina Playbook (Poetry Playhouse Publications). She took her PhD in Post-Secondary Adult Education from Capella University and her MFA in Writing and Literature from Bennington College. Her philosophy of creative writing and her dissertation research focus on poetic inquiry is that poetry uses qualities of observation, curiosity, emotion, and imagination, to name a few. These qualities can serve as a lens for viewing the world. She supports writers to use their senses, breath, language, and their voice to create ways to share their stories. Jules believes it is important to feel that our voices are being heard and to have that we have a sense of community with other writers and poets.
Jules’ poems have appeared in Open-Hearted Horizon: An Albuquerque Poetry Anthology, IKON Magazine, Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, and elsewhere. Jules has presented or had poems featured at the NM History Conference, the American Psychological Association Conference in Denver, the Jonquil Motel in Bisbee, AZ, the Rattlesnake Museum in Albuquerque, NM, a kind of a small array gallery in Magdalena, NM, the Briar in Minneapolis, MN, the Black Dog Café in St. Paul, MN, a Masonic Lodge in Bemidji, MN, the New Mexico Humanities Council, and featured at the International Women’s Day at the Santa Fe Capitol Rotunda, and many other bookstores, bars, galleries, and elsewhere. She taught poetry for the NM State Poetry Society and UNM Writers’ Conference and continues teaching at Jules’ Poetry Playhouse.
Class limit 10 students.
Doors open 9:30 am. Class runs 10 am - 4 pm.
Working hour lunch break on site. Bring your own lunch if desired. Plentiful snacks and beverages provided (coffee, tea, water, bagels and fruit in morning, afternoon snacks). Ample time to explore the grounds of Jules’ Poetry Playhouse and walk the labyrinth.
Bring writing materials, free wi-fi if needed.
Co-facilitated by Jules Nyquist. Hosted by Jules Nyquist and John Roche.
Author books will be for sale, along with Poetry Playhouse Publications books and art.
Directions and contact info sent with registration. Jules’ Poetry Playhouse is at 11 Homestead Lane, Placitas, NM.
No refunds; however, you may apply the fee to another class or merchandise if you need to cancel. If there is a waitlist and you need to cancel a 75% refund is at the discretion of Jules Poetry Playhouse.
Questions? Email jules@poetryplayhouse.com.
