A basement with history in La Soledad
In the heart of the La Soledad neighborhood, just three blocks from Parque de los Hippies and a ten-minute walk from the Avenida Jiménez TransMilenio station, there is a green door that almost no one notices. It has no sign, no visible number, and most neighbors swear that house has been vacant for years. But twice a week, between 7:30 and 10:00 at night, a dim light comes on in the basement window and voices can be heard reading aloud.
That basement is Casa de Poe, a literary gathering that has been operating since 2019 in a former coal storage room that served the neighborhood's houses in the early 20th century. When La Soledad was an upper-class neighborhood, with Republican-style houses and cobblestone streets, coal was lowered through a trapdoor from the street and stored in this space until kitchen stoves consumed it. Today, that same space with exposed brick and a low ceiling – where barely twelve people can sit – is one of the most exclusive and sought-after reading circles in Bogotá.
As of August 2026, Casa de Poe continues to operate under the same rules with which it was born: a maximum of eight attendees per session, readings aloud, zero cell phones, and a monthly fee that covers coffee, wine, and maintenance of the place. It does not appear on Google Maps, has no social media, and the only way in is for someone to invite you or for you to write to the email that circulates only among current members.
This article is as close as you will get to a formal invitation. I'll tell you how it works, who is behind it, what is being read this month, and how you can apply if you're interested.
The history of the basement: from coal to literature
The house where Casa de Poe operates was built in 1928, according to records from the Secretaría Distrital de Planeación. It is a typical two-story house with an interior courtyard, an exposed brick facade, and a carved wooden front door. The basement, however, was not part of the original design: it was excavated in 1935 when the owning family decided to install a central heating system that ran on mineral coal brought from Zipaquirá.
The coal storage room operated until 1963, when the house changed owners and the kitchen was modernized. Over the following decades, the basement was used as a warehouse, a carpentry workshop, and even a servant's quarters. In 1998, the house was bought by a literature professor from the Universidad Nacional who used it as a personal residence and study. It was she who, in 2019, decided to turn the basement into an informal literary gathering space with a small group of former students and friends.
The name "Casa de Poe" does not refer to Edgar Allan Poe as the main author of the readings, but rather to the atmosphere of the place: a damp basement, with peeling brick walls, an oil lamp in the corner, and a silence that feels dense when someone reads a horror story. Founding members say the name was given by the professor herself, who is a fan of the story "The Pit and the Pendulum" and swore the basement reminded her of that setting.
A curious fact few know: in 2021, a group of history students from the Universidad Javeriana did fieldwork on the La Soledad neighborhood and documented that the basement retains traces of soot on the ceiling beams. That physical evidence of the space's former use is part of what gives the gathering its character. When you sit there, you know you're in a place that already had history before the books arrived.
The host: who is behind the green door
The host of Casa de Poe goes by "El Bibliotecario" (The Librarian). No one uses his real name at sessions, not even the oldest members. It's a security measure he imposed from the start, arguing that in Bogotá literary circles become easy targets for robberies and extortion when they become too visible.
El Bibliotecario is a man in his mid-50s, with a graying beard and a deep voice that adapts surprisingly well to reading horror stories. He is a retired literature professor from the Universidad Nacional, where he taught for 25 years, but prefers not to reveal his identity to "not contaminate the experience with academic prestige," as he says when someone asks.
His literary career includes two short story collections published by independent presses in the 90s and an anthology of Colombian poetry he used as a guiding text in his classes. However, what truly distinguishes him as a host is not his résumé but his method of conducting the gatherings.
The rules of the gathering are strict and are explained on the first day to every new member:
- Mandatory reading aloud. No one comes just to listen without reading. Each session has a main reader (assigned a week in advance) and two secondary readers.
- No cell phones. Phones are stored in a wooden box at the entrance. If one rings, a symbolic fine of $5,000 COP is paid, which goes into the coffee jar.
- Maximum 8 attendees per session. The space can't hold more, and El Bibliotecario insists that intimacy is part of the experience.
- No formal academic criticism. You can opine, discuss, even contradict the host, but using academic jargon or doing structural analysis is forbidden. The gathering is for conversation, not for defending a thesis.
- Wine is served after the reading. The first hour is for reading and silence. The second hour is for conversation and wine.
El Bibliotecario also has an unwritten rule he repeats often: "You don't come here to impress anyone. You come to listen and to be heard." That phrase, a bit of a cliché, becomes real when you sit in a wooden chair, with a glass of red wine in one hand and a text by Horacio Quiroga in the other, and realize that no one is taking notes or preparing a clever response.
Reading calendar: next two months
The Casa de Poe calendar is set a month in advance and shared only with active members. However, for this article, El Bibliotecario authorized the publication of the upcoming sessions on the condition that the exact address not be revealed (which I wouldn't do anyway, because the house has no exterior signage).
Sessions are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Each session has a theme and a main reader. If you want to attend as a guest, you must request your spot at least a week in advance.
Tuesday, August 18, 2026 – "The Latin American horror story"
Three stories will be read: "La gallina degollada" by Horacio Quiroga, "El almohadón de plumas" by the same author, and "La noche boca arriba" by Julio Cortázar. The focus will not be literary analysis but the sensory experience of horror: how language builds fear without the need for monsters.
Thursday, August 27, 2026 – "Contemporary Colombian poetry"
Reading of poems by Piedad Bonnett, Juan Manuel Roca, and Andrea Cote. El Bibliotecario chose this theme to celebrate the poet's month in Colombia. It will be read aloud, and then there will be a conversation about the role of poetry in Bogotá's daily life.
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 – "Women writing about women"
Stories by Mariana Enríquez ("Las cosas que perdimos en el fuego"), Samanta Schweblin ("Pájaros en la boca"), and Colombian Carolina Sanín ("Los niños"). It's the most requested session of the semester, so if you want a spot, you need to ask quickly.
Thursday, September 17, 2026 – "The Colombian story of La Violencia"
A special session with readings by Manuel Mejía Vallejo, Eduardo Caballero Calderón, and a fragment from "La vorágine" by José Eustasio Rivera. El Bibliotecario has said this is the most difficult session to lead because it touches on sensitive topics in the country's history, but also the most necessary.
Tuesday, September 29, 2026 – "Tribute to Edgar Allan Poe"
The house's anniversary session. "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Fall of the House of Usher," and a little-known poem, "Ulalume," will be read. It's the only session of the year where costumes are allowed (though no one does it) and where the host reads his own text inspired by Poe.
If the calendar interests you, keep in mind that spots are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis and that September sessions usually fill up in less than 48 hours. The September 8 session, for example, already has a waiting list, as one of the regular members confirmed to me.
Access code: how to get there without exterior signage
Casa de Poe has no public address, but I can give you approximate coordinates without betraying the host's trust. The basement is in a house located on Carrera 19 with Calle 34, in the heart of the La Soledad neighborhood, half a block from the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad. It's a quiet residential area, with Republican-style houses and rubber trees that provide shade in the afternoons.
The green door is the key. It's not a main entrance door but a small pedestrian door, painted dark green, that leads directly to a staircase going down to the basement. It's on the right side of the house, about three meters from the main door. There's no visible doorbell, but there's a rusty bronze bell next to the frame, almost imperceptible if you don't know it's there.
The access code is simple: you arrive at the exact time, ring the bell three times in a row, and wait. El Bibliotecario or one of the members will open without asking who you are. If you arrive early, no problem: you can wait on the sidewalk or at the corner bakery (which has no name but is the only one in the area with a red awning). If you arrive more than ten minutes late, the door won't open. It's a rule repeated at every session and no one argues with it.
There is no exterior signage of any kind
