ua alumni

In this performance for the Writers at Work Series, Katherine Toy Miller and Vance Bourjaily read from their fiction. Katherine Toy Miller reads six short stories from a collection titled Eleanor, along with a short story titled "The Critical Session." Vance Bourjaily reads segments from a novel-in-progress called The Great Fake Book. Bourjaily ends his reading by performing a short solo on the cornet.

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. 

Sylvia Chan reads poems from her collection We Remain Traditional (2018). This reading was originally given with Francisco Cantú and Thomas Mira y Lopez.

Thomas Mira y Lopez reads from his essay collection The Book of Resting Places: A Personal History of Where We Lay the Dead (2018). This reading was originally given with Francisco Cantú and Sylvia Chan. 

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.

Carl Marcum reads poems from his second collection, A Camera Obscura (2021), primarily focused on the night sky and space exploration. He also reads two poems from his first collection, Cue Lazarus (2001), in addition to two poems from a manuscript in progress. This reading was originally given alongside Laurie Ann Guerrero as part of the Tom Sanders Memorial Reading Series.

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.