spanish language

Lorna Dee Cervantes reads primarily from Emplumada (1981) and From the Cables of Genocide: Poems on Love and Hunger (1991). She also reads several poems that would go on to be collected in Drive: The First Quartet (2006). 

Forrest Gander reads widely from his translations from the Spanish, including poems by Coral Bracho, Alfonso D'Aquino, Pura López Colomé, Nezahualcóyotl, and Jaime Saenz. He also reads from his translations of Pablo Neruda's rediscovered works, published as Then Come Back: The Lost Neruda Poems (2016).

Sandra Cisneros reads uncollected poems at the Phoenix Art Museum. This reading was originally given with Rita Dove and Joy Harjo in partnership with ArchiTEXTS: A Conversation Across Languages with Natalie Diaz.

Alberto Ríos, poet laureate of Arizona and alumnus of the UA MFA in Creative Writing program, reads across his published body of work, specifically poems from his books Whispering to Fool the Wind (1982), The Smallest Muscle in the Human Body (2002), The Dangerous Shirt (2009), and Not Go Away Is My Name (2020). Major themes in this reading include Ríos' grandmother, language, ancestry, and occasions around food. This reading was originally given alongside Cara Blue Adams and Aisha Sabatini Sloan to celebrate the MFA program's 50th anniversary.

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.