I love getting together in person to share & connect.
Whether it’s talking about languages, poetry, creativity, mental health or entrepreneurship, or creating intimate workshops, I just love it!
If you’d like me to speak at your event, I’d love to hear from you. Please, use the contact form to send across details for your event.
The topics I feel most passionate about talking about are poetry and creative (self-) expression, decolonization of language and trauma informed teaching, multilingualism, feminism, embodiment, mental health and spirituality, in no particular order and no separate boxes. I find that many of them overlap. This is why many of my talks and events combine two or more of the aforementioned categories.
Upcoming Events
November 2024
PRESENT POETRY WORKSHOP
Our brains are wired to experience stress in the face of change. This workshop will bring what’s present in our creative minds to the forefront through reading poetry, reflective prompts, writing, and sharing with the group.
Our workshop takes a unique approach to poetry therapy, focusing on the individual’s reaction to the poems. This approach, always mindful of the primary objective of psychological health and well-being, guides participants through a healing process. By reading and responding to a variety of poems, we delve into paradox, possibility, and potential. The therapeutic power of poetry is further harnessed through the creation of original poems that simultaneously speak to the unique and the universal.
It’s important to note that this workshop is not a therapy session. It is a creative writing workshop with a focus on the therapeutic aspect of writing. It’s designed to help participants work through whatever is present and needs tending, both individually and as a group.
“It helped me to engage with the issue of writing bilingually, the possibilities and the challenges, at a deeper level. Maria was an excellent tutor”
Past In-person Events
” Una revolución de dentro afuera: redefinición del aprendizaje de idiomas” – Universidad de Burgos (Burgos, Spain), September 2024
“Is it happening again?” A poetry Workshop
Humans are natural meaning-makers and storytellers. We also think in circles, cycles and seasons. During this workshop, the attendees will explore the crucible of grief and loss related to Covid restrictions, loss of freedom, experiences, lives… We will seek meaning and give it a place in our individual and collective mythical stories.
Part of the poetry workshop series “Remaking of Life” organised by Mother Tongues. (Ireland) April 2021.
“Multilingual Poetry Creation: Connect with your inner polyglot” – Mother Tongues Festival (Ireland), 2020
“Creative Writing, Performance, and Public Speaking” in collaboration with Kerstin Cable. – Langfest (Canada), 2019
“Enseñar español a través de la poesía” – CREA (Spain), 2018
This talk was addressed to teachers of Spanish as a foreign language and was part of the project CREA – El profesor como creativo (The teacher as a creative person). I talked about resorting to poetry to teach Spanish.
Language Learning
“My heart was deeply touched by her talk”
Past Online Talks & Events
“Realizations of the heart: Haibun” A poetry therapy workshop – Irish Poetry Therapy Network, August 2024
“Shaping into acceptance” A poetry therapy workshop – Irish Poetry Therapy Network 11 February 2023.
“How to lead an ethical, conscious, holistic and embodied language business” – Language Career Summit by Actual Fluency 2022, 12 – 16 September 2022.
“From internalising to fully integrating the language” – New Year, New Language Summit 2022, 3 – 7 January 2022.
“The healing power of multilingual poetry” – Language & Mental Wellbeing Conference, 18 – 21 March 2021.
“Awakening to yourself through languages” with Jessica Tefengki Ruelle– Women in Language, 2020
“Creative Writing for Rhythm and Intonation in the target language” – Women in Language 2019
“Cracking the Language Code Through Art and Self-Expression” – Women In Language 2018
Emprender como profesor online – Conferencia de Profesores Online (Online Teacher Summit), 2018.
Talks about art, feminism, creativity
My brainchild, “Awakened Creatress,” was born in 2016 after a period of deep healing that involved therapy and countless hours spent in the creative fire. I transmuted my anger for inequality into a passion for feminism and fierce self-expression, and from that place, Awakened Creatress was born.
We had a two-year run (2016 and 2017) in Dublin, Ireland. A gathering and celebration of women, creativity and balance through art and self-expression.