Browse Reading by Year

Saretta Morgan reads extensively from Alt-Nature (2024), her first full-length collection. Rooted in southern Arizona, her poems consider the militarization of the US-Mexico border and the legacies of colonialism in American culture.

O'odham poets Ofelia Zepeda, Su:k Chu:vak Fulwilder, and Amber Lee Ortega read poems in English and O'odham from the exhibition The Place Where Clouds Are Formed (April 4-August 31, 2024). Their poems and commentary focus on O'odham identity, experiences including displacement and violence, the importance of honoring the desert, and the resilience of individuals and communities. Traditional religion and Catholicism are discussed throughout.  

In this trilingual event, Zapotec-language poet Natalia Toledo and translator Clare Sullivan read from Toledo's The Black Flower and Other Zapotec Poems (2015) and a forthcoming collection titled Deche bitoope / El dorso del cangrejo / Carapace Dancer. All poems are read in Zapotec (Toledo's originals), Spanish (translated by Toledo) and English (translated from the Spanish by Sullivan). Toledo reads from Mexico City via Zoom.

Gabriel Dozal reads from his first book, The Border Simulator (2023), which considers the US-Mexico border with humor through the voices of several characters. Dozal also reads poems from what he describes as a B-side to the book—related poems that don't appear in the published version. This reading was originally given alongside Maddie Norris, Gabriel Palacios, and Margo Steines, all fellow alumni of the University of Arizona creative writing MFA program.

Maddie Norris reads from The Wet Wound: An Elegy in Essays (2024), focused on grief and loss of her father. She reads an essay from the book written in the second person and addressed to her childhood. This reading was originally given alongside Gabriel Dozal, Gabriel Palacios, and Margo Steines, all fellow alumni of the University of Arizona creative writing MFA program.

Gabriel Palacios reads from his first book, A Ten Peso Burial for Which Truth I Sign (2024). The poems touch on themes of family history and identity, and Tucson appears throughout. This reading was originally given alongside Gabriel Dozal, Maddie Norris, and Margo Steines, all fellow alumni of the University of Arizona creative writing MFA program.

Margo Steines reads from her memoir Brutalities: A Love Story (2023), sharing a chapter focused on running, obsession, and the way pain can shape us. This reading was originally given alongside Gabriel Dozal, Maddie Norris, and Gabriel Palacios, all fellow alumni of the University of Arizona creative writing MFA program.

At this special event for middle school students, Celia C. Pérez talks about zines and her experiences as a writer. She reads briefly from her first book, The First Rule of Punk (2017). She then leads a hands-on workshop in which the students look at a selection of zines and create their own.

Dana Levin reads from her fifth book, Now Do You Know Where You Are (2022), sharing poems written during a time of anxiety about the future that engage with the body, philosophy, grief, and healing. She closes by reading "House of Feels," an essay from her memoir in progress about becoming a poet.

In this bilingual reading, Brenda Lozano reads from her novel Brujas (2020) in the original Spanish, as well as from Witches (2022), the English translation by Heather Cleary. The novel reflects on women, power, and language, centering on a shaman or bruja from an indigenous community in Mexico. Manuel Muñoz reads a portion of the English translation.

Mark Wunderlich opens by reading from his fourth collection, God of Nothingness (2021), before turning to recently written poems. He shares work that centers on the body, animals, violence, and the complex inheritances arising from lineage and place.

CAConrad reads from Listen to the Golden Boomerang Return (2024), an ecopoetic work considering animal and human realities in the Anthropocene. To open, CAConrad briefly discusses and reads from Amanda Paradise: Resurrect Extinct Vibration (2021); to close, they read one poem from the chapbook First Light (2024). This reading was presented in connection with CAConrad's exhibit 500 Places at Once on display at MOCA Tucson.

Mary Ruefle reads from The Book (2023), together with new poems and what she terms "scraps"—found poems or brief fragments of writing. She primarily selects short pieces but also reads from "Dear Friends," an essay on friendship. Humor and reflections on the passage of time recur throughout.

Brandon Som reads from his Pulitzer Prize-winning collection Tripas (2023), sharing poems focused on his Mexican American and Chinese American grandparents, particularly their experiences living and working in Phoenix, Arizona. Throughout the poems, images of circuitry and electronics link the poems back to his Chicana grandmother's work in a Motorola factory.

Peruvian poet Tilsa Otta and translator Farid Matuk read from The Hormone of Darkness: A Playlist (2024) in both the original Spanish and the English translations. Otta shares poems that reflect on the self in relationship to lovers, the universe, and contemporary music including reggaeton and pop.

Roger Reeves reads poems from his second book, Best Barbarian (2022), together with a prose excerpt from Dark Days: Fugitive Essays (2023) and new poems. Reeves' work in this reading highlights the violence inherent in the United States—both as an idea and as a reality. His poems and prose frequently include allusions to canonical and contemporary literature, American history and politics, and hip hop.