love

Jack Gilbert reads widely from poems published in the 37-year period between his first book, Views of Jeopardy, and his fifth book, The Dance Most of All, ultimately published in 2009.

In Louise Glück's first performance at the University of Arizona Poetry Center, she opens with some poems from her third book, The Garden, and then reads from the manuscript of her book Descending Figure, which would be published two years later.

Carolyn Kizer reads poems appearing in Harping On (1996); Yin (1984); and Cool, Calm & Collected (2001).

Li-Young Lee reads primarily from his second collection, The City in Which I Love You, which was published the same year as this reading. He also reads one poem from his first collection, Rose (1986).

W.S. Merwin reads from his early collections The Moving Target (1963) and The Lice (1967), as well as from The Carrier of Ladders (1970), which had not yet been completed at the time of this reading. Used with permission of the Wylie Agency LLC.

Richard Shelton reads from The Tattooed Desert (1970), as well as several poems from Journal of Return (1969) and Of All the Dirty Words (1972).

James Tate reads from his first collection, The Lost Pilot (1967), along with poems that would be collected in The Oblivion Ha-Ha (1970).

Bill Knott reads widely from his work. This reading includes poems from Becos (1983), Outremer (1989), and Poems 1963-1988 (1989), as well as work collected later. 

Diane Wakoski reads widely from her works, including Discrepancies and Apparitions (1966), Inside the Blood Factory (1968), and The Magellanic Clouds (1970). She also reads poems that would be collected in Smudging (1972) and Greed: Parts 8, 9, 11 (1973).

Sandra McPherson reads from her first two collections of poetry, Elegies for the Hot Season (1970) and Radiation (1973). She reads one love poem that remains uncollected.

Primus St. John reads from Love is not a Consolation; It Is a Light (1982) and Skins on the Earth(1976).

Li-Young Lee reads widely from his body of work and discusses forms, craft, and chance in poetry.

Marina Rivera reads from Mestiza (1977) and Sobra (1977); she also reads several uncollected poems. This reading was originally given with Carolyn Kizer. 

D.M. Thomas reads from Two Voices (1968) and Logan Stone (1971). This reading was originally given alongside Peter Redgrove and includes two tracks of collaborative reading with Redgrove.

Brenda Hillman reads primarily from her collection Coffee, 3 a.m. (1981). She also reads poems from a then forthcoming collection, White Dress (1985). This reading was originally given with Leonard Michaels. 

In this performance, Michael Burkard reads from his first three books, particularly from the 1981 collection Ruby for Grief. He also reads some uncollected work.

William Pitt Root reads from his first collection, The Storm and Other Poems (1969), and from the soon-to-be published Striking the Dark Air for Music (1973). Between selections from these two books, he reads lighter, more humorous poems that would remain uncollected or be published much later.

In this performance, Jimmy Santiago Baca reads from Black Mesa Poems, a collection published the year after this reading took place. He also performs poems from Martín & Meditations on the South Valley, a book that was awarded the Before Columbus American Book Award and earned Jimmy Santiago Baca an NEA grant for the year of this reading.

Peter Gizzi reads primarily from Some Values of Landscape and Weather (2003), The Outernationale (2007), and Threshold Songs (2011).

Jane Miller reads from her collection Midnights (2008).

Iraqi poet Sinan Antoon reads from his collection Baghdad Blues and uncollected translations of many more poems. He concludes the reading with a performance of a poem in Arabic.

At this performance given with Abraham Smith during the Tucson Festival of Books, Kim Addonizio reads from her books Lucifer at the Starlite and What Is This Thing Called Love. Before a question-and-answer session with both poets, Kim Addonizio performs a short song on her harmonica.

Marguerite Young reads selections of her poetry and excerpts from her novel Miss MacIntosh, My Darling (1965), offering commentary on the process and context for each piece. 

Joni Wallace reads primarily from her collection Blinking Ephemeral Valentine and also an unpublished piece accompanied by the guitarist Greg Lewis. This is the first half of a reading which also featured Mary Jo Bang.

Philip Schultz reads poems from several books, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning collection The God of Loneliness (2010). He closes the reading with his first public performance of several new poems.

Katherine Larson reads pieces from Radial Symmetry (2011) as well as "Of the Unsolved Problem of the Origin of the Angiosperms," a new poem.

Timothy Schaffert reads from The Coffins of Little Hope, published in 2011, and The Swan Gondola, which would be published in 2014.

Laura Tohe reads from No Parole Today (1999) and poems that would later be published in Tséyi'/Deep in the Rock: Reflections on Canyon de Chelly (2005). Stephen Strom, the photographer for Tséyi'/Deep in the Rock: Reflections on Canyon de Chelly, also briefly speaks about his work.

Zachary Schomburg reads from Fjords (2012) and Scary, No Scary (2009). This reading was originally given with Joyelle McSweeney.

Shannon Cain reads a story from her collection The Necessity of Certain Behaviors (2011) as part of the University of Arizona Prose Series. This reading was originally given with Lydia Millet.

Lydia Millet reads from her novel Magnificence (2012) as part of the University of Arizona Prose Series. This reading was originally given with Shannon Cain.

Sandra Cisneros reads short stories from The House on Mango Street (1984) and Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991) and poetry from My Wicked Wicked Ways (1987).

Aurelie Sheehan reads a story from the collection Jack Kerouac Is Pregnant (1994), as well as two unpublished works.

Rita Dove reads from her collection American Smooth: Poems (2004).

Lawrence Clark Powell reads from his novel The Blue Train (1977).

Denise Chávez reads from her novel Loving Pedro Infante (2001). This reading was originally given with Loida Maritza Pérez.

Richard Siken reads poems that would later be published in Crush (2005). This reading was originally given with Brian Blanchfield.

Melissa Buckheit reads from Noctilucent (2012), as well as new and uncollected work. This reading was originally given with Karen Rigby and Anne Shaw.

Samuel Ace reads poems from Stealth (2011) as well as new and uncollected work. This reading was originally given with Polly Rosenwaike and Dexter L. Booth.

Jane Miller reads primarily from Thunderbird (2013). This reading was originally given with Joshua Marie Wilkinson.

Natalie Diaz reads poems from When My Brother Was an Aztec (2012) as well as new and uncollected work. This reading was originally given with Eduardo C. Corral to inaugurate the Morgan Lucas Schuldt Memorial Reading Series.

Alan Shapiro reads poems from The Dead Alive and Busy (2000), Song and Dance (2002), Tantalus in Love (2005) and Old War (2008).

Maggie Nelson reads excerpts from Bluets (2009) and The Art of Cruelty (2011), as well as new work. This reading was given as part of the Hybrid Writing Series, co-sponsored by the UA Prose Series.

Jenny Boully reads excerpts from of the mismatched teacups, of the single-serving spoon (2012) and not merely because of the unknown that was stalking toward them (2011), as well as new and uncollected work. This reading was given as part of the Hybrid Writing Series, co-sponsored by the UA Prose Series.

Jane Hirshfield reads poems from Of Gravity & Angels (1988), The October Palace (1994), and The Lives of the Heart (1997).

Jack Gilbert reads primarily from The Great Fires: Poems 1982-1992 (1995) and Refusing Heaven (2005).

Gene Frumkin reads poems from The Rainbow-Walker (1968). This reading was originally given with Douglas Flaherty.

Terry McMillan reads from her novel Disappearing Acts (1989).

James Laughlin reads primarily from In Another Country (1978) and Selected Poems, 1935-1985 (1985).

Linda Gregg reads primarily from Too Bright to See (1981). This reading was originally given with Alan Feldman and Faye Kicknosway. 

Aisha Sabatini Sloan reads an early version of "Ocean Park No. 6," titled after a painting by Richard Diebenkorn. "Ocean Park No. 6" would go on to be published in the essay collection Dreaming of Ramadi in Detroit.

Spoken word artist Teré Fowler-Chapman performs selections from her work and the work of poet Sonia Sanchez at the 2014 Poetry Out Loud Regional Finals Competition. She is accompanied by violinist Samantha Bounkeua.

Joy Harjo reads poems from The Woman Who Fell From the Sky (1994), along with the essay "Warrior Road." This reading was originally given with Leslie Marmon Silko.

Mary Szybist reads from her National Book Award-winning collection Incarnadine (2013).

Luis Alberto Urrea reads from Vatos (2000) and Nobody's Son: Notes from an American Life (2002), along with a poem that would later be collected in The Tijuana Book of the Dead (2015).

Richard Siken reads poems from Crush (2005). This reading was originally given with Camille T. Dungy and Heriberto Yépez for the Next Word in Poetry Series.

Stephen Dunn and Dave Smith read from their poems.

Richard Elman reads work unpublished at the time of this reading, including his short story "Almonds with the Children of Long Bay." He also reads "Post Time," the prologue of Namedropping: Mostly Literary Memoirs (1998), along with a short story called "Loving Strangers" from his collection Disco Frito (1988).

Ron Hansen reads two Nebraska-based stories: "True Romance," which combines two of the author's personal experiences in Nebraska and Minnesota, and "Nebraska," which was used as the prologue for a Nebraska-themed issue of Prairie Schooner (Summer, 1986).

Robert Hemenway reads an excerpt from At the Border (1984) and prefaces his reading with a description of common themes in his writing.

Sarah Kortemeier performs a series of short love poems in light of Valentine's Day at the 2015 Poetry Out Loud Regional Finals Competition.

Ariana Reines reads new and uncollected poems, including one written for this reading.

Simon J. Ortiz reads prose and poetry, including an excerpt from an in-progress manuscript of an epic poem and selections from Woven Stone (1992), from Sand Creek (2000), and Out There Somewhere (2002).

Alison Moore begins her reading with a poem titled "The Extras at the Gates of Eden." She then reads her short story "Snake Woman," which would go on to be published in The Middle of Elsewhere: A Novella and Stories (2006).

Steve Orlen reads just after the publication of his first chapbook, Sleeping on Doors.

Steve Orlen reads poems from the just-published collection Kisses (1997), as well as new poems.

In this artists' talk, photographer Seamus Murphy and journalist/poet Eliza Griswold discuss their experiences in Afghanistan and the poems and photographs featured in the exhibition Shame Every Rose: Images from Afghanistan. This exhibition, which traveled to the Poetry Center courtesy of the Poetry Foundation of Chicago, featured photographs presented in pairs to echo the couplet form of the landay, an oral folk poetry created by and for the Pashtun women who span the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The landays featured in this exhibit also appear in the June 2013 issue of Poetry magazine, as well as in the anthology I Am The Beggar of The World (2014).

This reading was originally scheduled as a joint appearance by Brazilian poet Adélia Prado and her translator Ellen Doré Watson, but Prado was unable to travel due to health issues. Watson thus reads her translations of Prado's poetry, as collected in The Alphabet in the Park: Selected Poems (1990), and plays recordings of Prado reading some of her poetry in the original Portuguese.

Lynn Luria-Sukenick reads two works of fiction ("The Man With The Blues Guitar" and "Still Life With Bath"), along with a short performance piece called "Bomb." "Bomb" is a collaboration with poet and musician Rob Brezsny, whose part is performed here by Jonathan Penner.

Nancy Mairs reads poetry and nonfiction from her first three books, In All the Rooms of the Yellow House (1984), Plaintext (1986), and Remembering the Bone House (1989).

Roger Weingarten reads "The Tale of The Green Rose," which is the last poem in The Vermont Suicides (1978).

Roberta J. Hill opens with two poems from her first collection, Star Quilt (1984), before reading more recent work that would later be collected in Philadelphia Flowers (1996). Both collections were published under the name Roberta Hill Whiteman.

Natalie Diaz reads poems that would appear five years later in Postcolonial Love Poem (2020). She also reads briefly from her first book, When My Brother Was An Aztec (2012).

Leroy V. Quintana reads poems including "Guadalupe," "Frida," and "Points North." Estela Portillo Trambley reads from her short story "If It Weren't For The Honeysuckle" (1975).

Houston Baker reads widely from his work, including poems from No Matter Where You Travel, You Still Be Black (1979), Spirit Run (1982), and Blues Journeys Home (1985).

Steve Orlen reads from his collections Permission to Speak (1978) and A Place at the Table (1982), as well as from newer material.

Steve Orlen reads extensively from his collection The Bridge of Sighs (1992). His selections follow the book's four major themes, which he describes as poems of childhood, poems of love and marriage, poems of relationship, and poems of grace.

Paul Zimmer reads poems inspired by his troubled youth during the Eisenhower years, as well as several persona poems.

Rosemary Catacalos reads from her first collection, Again for the First Time (1984), before sharing more recent poems. Several of the more recent poems would appear in anthologies throughout the 1990s or would be collected in her chapbook Begin Here (2013). San Antonio, Texas, figures prominently, and key themes include multicultural identity and life in border communities.

Thomas Rogers reads from the manuscript of his novel At the Shores (1980). At the time of the reading, the novel was a work in progress with the title The Desire and Pursuit of the Whole.

Roland Flint, Poet Laureate of Maryland at the time of this reading, opens with early poems from Say It (1979) and Resuming Green (1983). Flint reads from his National Poetry Series volume Stubborn (1990), interspersing work from Stubborn with recently written poems, some of which would go on to be published in Easy (1999). Flint also discusses his work as a translator of Bulgarian and reads several of his translations.

Richard Jackson reads long poems from his collection Worlds Apart (1987) and others that would be collected in Alive All Day (1992). He begins with a poem by Thomas Hardy, "I Looked Up from My Writing."

Jane Miller opens her reading with "Miami Heart" and "The Poet," both from Memory at These Speeds: New and Selected Poems (1996). She continues with work from Wherever You Lay Your Head, published in 1999. This reading was originally given with Eleni Sikelianos.

Tarfia Faizullah reads poems from her collection Seam (2014) and from an early version of Registers of Illuminated Villages (Graywolf Press, 2018). This reading was originally given with francine j. harris as part of the Morgan Lucas Schuldt Memorial Reading Series.

Robert Hass reads one poem from The Apple Trees at Olema (2010) along with recent, uncollected poems on the subject of climate change. This reading was originally given with Brenda Hillman as part of the Climate Change & Poetry Series.

Nikky Finney reads poems from her collections The World Is Round (2003) and Lovechild's Hotbed of Occasional Poetry (forthcoming in 2020). Finney also reads her new work titled "Black Boy with Cow: A Still Life" commissioned for the Poetry Center's Art for Justice series. Members of the American Friends Service Committee, Tucson give an introductory presentation.

Peggy Shumaker reads poems from Cairn: New and Selected Poems and Prose (2018) as well as one uncollected poem. This reading was originally given with Maurya Simon as the inaugural reading in the Tom Sanders Memorial Reading Series.

Maurya Simon reads poems from The Wilderness: New & Selected Poems 1980-2016 (2018). This reading was originally given with Peggy Shumaker as the inaugural reading in the Tom Sanders Memorial Reading Series. 

Joseph O. Legaspi reads poems from his collections Imago (2007) and Threshold (2017) as well as two uncollected poems. This reading was originally given alongside Javier Zamora and Kim Addonizio at the Center for Creative Photography. 

Li-Young Lee reads new and uncollected work as well as two poems from his collection The Undressing (2018). This reading was given as part of the Tom Sanders Memorial Reading Series. 

Ada Limón reads from her poetry manuscript What Is Caged Is Also Kept From Us, commissioned by the Poetry Center as part of the Art for Justice series. Lola Rainey gives an opening presentation focused on pretrial detention.