memoir

Lucille Clifton reads poems on many subjects, including family and illness, as well as a series of Rastafarian-inspired poems about the life of the Biblical figure Mary. In addition to poems, Clifton reads excerpts from Generations: A Memoir and her children's book Sonora Beautiful.

Al Young reads poems from The Blues Don't Change (1982) and Heaven: Collected Poems 1956-1990 (1992), along with several prose selections.

This reading, originally given with Leslie Marmon Silko, was Daryl Ross Begay's first public reading. 

In this reading, originally given with Christopher Cokinos, Beth Alvarado shares pieces from her book Anthropologies (2011).

Leslie Marmon Silko reads from The Turquoise Ledge (2010), a memoir. Throughout the reading, Silko provides insightful commentary.

John T. Price reads from two memoirs: Man Killed by Pheasant and Other Kinships (2008) and Daddy Long Legs: The Natural Education of a Father (2013).

Nick Flynn reads widely from his work, interacting with the audience as he reads.

In this reading, originally given with Naomi Benaron, Poetry Center Summer Resident Harrison Candelaria Fletcher reads from his memoir Descanso for My Father: Fragments of a Life (2012) and "White," an uncollected essay.

Fenton Johnson reads excerpts from Scissors, Paper, Rock: A Novel (1993), Geography of the Heart: A Memoir (1997) and "Beyond Belief: A Skeptic Searches for an American Faith" (1998).

C. D. Wright reads from One With Others (2010).

Nancy Mairs reads from a draft version of a manuscript that would later be published as Remembering the Bone House: An Erotics of Place and Space (1989).

Patricia Hampl reads an excerpt from her memoir The Florist's Daughter (2007).

In this reading and presentation, originally given with Charles Alexander, writer and biologist Elizabeth Bernays reads from her large body of literary works and discusses her entomological research.

Ilya Kaminsky reads primarily from his collection Dancing in Odessa (2004).

Luis Alberto Urrea reads from Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border (1993), The Fever of Being (1994), Wandering Time: Western Notebooks (1999), and also from The Best American Poetry (1996).

Nicole Walker reads from her memoir Quench Your Thirst with Salt (2013). This reading was originally given with Brent Hendricks.

Brent Hendricks reads from his memoir A Long Day at the End of the World: A Story of Desecration and Revelation in the Deep South (2013). This reading was originally given with Nicole Walker.

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.

Aurelie Sheehan reads from Jewelry Box: A Collection of Histories (2013). This reading was originally given with Farid Matuk.

Al Young reads from Drowning in the Sea of Love: Musical Memoirs (1995), Heaven: Collected Poems 1956-1990 (1992), and The Sound of Dreams Remembered: Poems 1990-2000 (2001).

Karen Brennan reads from little dark (2014). This reading was originally given with Brian Blanchfield and Stephen Willey.

Gary Soto reads poetry and prose from Who Will Know Us (1990) and A Summer Life (1990), along with poems that would later be collected in Home Course in Religion (1991).

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).

Rolando Hinojosa reads widely from his work in English and Spanish.

Terry Tempest Williams reads excerpts from a manuscript later published as Leap: A Traveler in the Garden of Delights (2000).

Luis J. Rodriguez reads from The Concrete River (1991) and Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A. (1993), along with poems that would later be collected in Trochemoche (1998). He also discusses his experiences with Los Angeles gang violence and the Chicano movement as well as his work with at-risk youth.

Patricia Hampl opens with two poems, "The Moment" and "Last Letter." Then she reads the essay "Pilgrimage" from her book Spillville (1986), as well as two excerpts from her memoir A Romantic Education (1981). At this event, Hampl also read from Virgin Time: In Search of the Contemplative Life (1992), but this portion of her reading was not recorded.

Frank Waters reads from his novel The Man Who Killed the Deer (1942) and his memoir Pumpkin Seed Point (1973).

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).

Vivian Gornick reads from Fierce Attachments (1987), a memoir of the author's past and present relationship with her mother. This University of Arizona Creative Writing faculty reading was originally given with Mary Elsie Robertson.

In this lecture, Rachel Zucker discusses risk, shame, and questions of gender and privilege in relationship to confessional poetry. 

Poetry Center Summer Resident Vickie Vértiz reads new and uncollected poems. She also introduces Tucson Youth Poetry Slam champion Erik Loya-Tolano and local poet and performer Enrique García Naranjo, who each read one poem. This reading was originally given with Erin Stalcup.

Richard Shelton reads from his memoir Nobody Rich or Famous (2016). He also reads a related poem from Selected Poems, 1969-1981 (1982).

James Allen Hall reads the title essay from I Liked You Better Before I Knew You So Well (2017).

Randall Horton gives the inaugural reading in the Poetry Center’s Art for Justice series. Horton reads new work commissioned by the Poetry Center from a manuscript in progress titled #219128, as well as excerpts from Hook: A Memoir (2015). Ojalá Systems gives an introductory performance.

Carolyn Forché reads excerpts from her memoir What You Have Heard Is True (2019) and poems from her collection In the Lateness of the World (2020).

Ander Monson reads from his first memoir, Predator (2022), titled after the 1987 sci-fi action film that he has watched 146 times. Monson shares excerpts from the memoir that closely draw upon select frames and scenes from the film. Part of the Distinguished Visitors in Creative Writing Series, this reading was given alongside Bojan Louis and Manuel Muñoz. 

Matthew Zapruder reads poems from Father's Day (2019) and his forthcoming collection I Love Hearing Your Dreams (2024), many of which center on fatherhood, family life, and writing poetry. He opens and closes the reading with excerpts from his memoir Story of a Poem (2023), focused on the act of drafting and revising a poem.

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.