People of Ibiza: Alexcia Panay

“My journey with poetry was completely unplanned.  It began with a car accident, a near-death experience.  As the car was flipping my consciousness went black, and I heard the question: ‘Am I dying?’  Then a response: ‘No. Surrender.’  My body relaxed and surrendered completely.  While the car was totalled, I emerged from the wreckage with a different sense of presence.

Something had cracked open in me. Soon after, at a friend’s party, I came across an old typewriter and started asking people to give me three words, from which I would spontaneously type a poem.  In the Bible there’s a verse: ‘Where two or more are gathered, I am there.’  I experienced this over and over again, as I put my hands on the typewriter while someone was sitting across from me. The experience is visceral, immediate. There’s no deleting, no editing—just the moment as it is.

That friend in Los Angeles gifted me my own typewriter, and very quickly this became my instrument for connection. Invitations followed, from Burning Man to New York to Mexico, and eventually, Ibiza.  The spontaneous poetry expanded from being one-on-one encounters, to a form of ritual for larger gatherings.  A piece of art is created which is an artifact of that moment of togetherness.

I was already trusting in the practice of following signs, trusting the feeling of connection and where it can lead you. I had been on a path of self-exploration for a long time, traveling the world, including a couple of intense years on the path of plant medicine, trying to understand the painful story into which I had been born.  From a young age I was shaken into questioning the tragedies of life, and why they happen.

One evening here in Ibiza I joined a tea ceremony with a friend in front of Es Vedrà and was enchanted by the experience – the silence, the reverence, the sensuality. The subtle power of the tea plant. I went to Casa Caudro in the Pyrenees to study the art of the tea ceremony with Global Tea Hut, and afterwards my two essential practices slowly blended together: tea and poetry.

I don’t consider for a second that I’m a tea master! I just love sharing tea as a way to open a creative space.  I knew that for myself, I needed to show up for regular practice; and gradually I started inviting friends into this space of curiosity and stillness. The weekly gathering grew by word of mouth, for both those living here or passing through, and I was amazed by all the different people whom the island brought to my door, to sit with me on my floor.  

The practice of Poetea has grown naturally over the last four years, in my home near Atzaro, in a very soft and slow way.  I never know until the last moment who will show up, it can be thirty people or three people – but there is always the same intimacy.  It’s a realm of integration, a place to land and give thanks, especially after all the many experiences Ibiza presents. People write everything from very personal confessions to acute observations to thoughts about the war. All is welcome in this space of neutrality and poetry.  

This practice continues revealing truths to me.  I’ve learned to embrace imperfection. There’s beauty in the raw, the unpolished, the honest. That’s where the real magic lives. All you have to do is show up as you are, arrive into presence, and let the rest unfold.

Ibiza has become both my sanctuary and muse. I’m so inspired by the other artists on the island, and grateful to create with them.  Thanks to Alexeja and Diego of the Chai Shop — which is another magical portal — a book will soon be published of the collaborative poems created during the weekly gatherings. With the actress Alex Gray and director Adam Donald, a short film came into being which is titled The Void, all filmed spontaneously amongst three friends on different locations of the island.

I’m interested now in moving towards ritual theatre, larger live performances, and creative voyages at sea.  I inherited a deep love of the sea from my father, whom I lost at an early age.  He gifted me the book The Prophet, which contains the line: ‘The deeper sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.’

To book a ritual with Alexcia, or join her weekly tea circle, click here