Writer Marisa Mañana hosts a creative writing workshop for Senegalese women university students

Marisa Mañana, the writer and professor of Equatorial Guinean origin, recently led a creative writing workshop for female students in the Spanish departments of Cheikh Anta Diop and Gaston Berger universities in Senegal. The workshop, organized as part of the project “En Clave Afro: African and Diaspora Literature in Spanish with a Gender Perspective,” centred on migration as a key theme—a reality that permeates Senegalese society in numerous ways.

Growing Interest for Spanish in Senegal

Spanish has gained significance in Senegal as a foreign language in academic, cultural, and commercial spheres. While French remains the primary language in education and administration, globalization and the strengthening of ties with Latin America and Spain have driven its learning. Evidence of this is the establishment of the Instituto Cervantes in Dakar, the first in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the presence of Romance language departments in the country’s major universities, where Spanish holds a prominent position.

Creative Writing to Tell the World

Lasting six hours, Marisa Mañana’s workshop provided participants with a space for literary exploration in Spanish, moving beyond the strictly academic approach. Through reading and analyzing Las que aguardan by Senegalese author Fatou Diome and La luna está en Duala by Cameroonian writer Sani Ladan, the students explored migration from a gender perspective. As a final exercise, each participant wrote their own story on the theme, discovering new ways of expression and a deeper connection to the language.

Thanks to this workshop, the students were able to write in Spanish from a more personal and creative space, stepping away from the confines of traditional academic structures. Many expressed their surprise upon realizing that they not only had the ability to write, but also possessed valuable stories to share with the world.
This workshop enabled Senegalese university students to not only refine their Spanish but also discover their unique voices through writing, delving into stories that reflect their own realities and dreams.

A practical and reflective approach

The workshop blended theory and practice, fostering both spontaneous writing in the classroom and reflective writing at home. Through narrative exercises and literary techniques, the participants explored their personal voices and the richness of creative diversity. The main objectives of the activity included:

• Write short stories in Spanish, drawing on Afro literary references.
• Experiment with writing from a personal and creative perspective.
• Encourage debate and the exchange of ideas in a collaborative learning environment.
• Promote reading as a source of enjoyment and knowledge.

 

About the Instructor

Marisa Mañana is a writer, creative writing professor, book club coordinator, and editor. In 2022, she published Como nosotros, a short story collection for adults. She currently teaches at the Escuela de Escritores in Madrid.

Marisa Mañana leading the workshop with students from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar.

Students from Gaston Berger University pose alongside the instructor.