first book

Boyer Rickel reads poetry from his first book, Arreboles (1991), touching on family and childhood memories, experiences living in Tucson, and musicians and writers of previous centuries. He also reads an essay that would go on to be published in Taboo (1999), which he introduces by discussing his approach to writing essays that follow the form of poems, not returning to a main idea but moving through it.

Lawrence Lenhart reads from his essay collection The Well-Stocked and Gilded Cage (2016). This reading was originally given with Benjamin Rybeck and Natasha Stagg.

Benjamin Rybeck reads from his novel The Sadness (2016). This reading was originally given with Lawrence Lenhart and Natasha Stagg.

Natasha Stagg reads from her novel Surveys (2016). This reading was originally given with Lawrence Lenhart and Benjamin Rybeck. 

Reading in Tucson for the second time in 1972, Ai reads from her manuscript then titled Wheel in a Ditch, which would be published the following year as Cruelty (1973), her first book. She also reads several poems that would appear in her second book, Killing Floor (1979), as well as several that remain uncollected. 

Yanyi reads from his two published collections, The Year of Blue Water (2019) and Dream of the Divided Field (2022), opening with two early, uncollected poems and closing with one recent draft. Intimacy emerges as a thematic center—in friendships, romantic relationships, and with the self.

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.

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.