writing process

William Stafford reads widely from poems published between 1960 and 1973, as well as one that would not be collected until 1992. Interspersed with his poems are comments about political engagement, the writing process, and the feeling that his work attempts to induce.

James Tate is interviewed by student Rick Taylor.

A.K. Ramanujan reads poems from The Striders (1966) and Relations (1971).

Demetria Martinez reads work from The Devil's Workshop (2002), Breathing Between the Lines (1997), and Confessions of a Berlitz-Tape Chicana (2005). She also reads a short story from the manuscript of The Block Captain's Daughter, which would go on to be published by University of Oklahoma Press in 2012. This reading was originally given alongside Rebecca Seiferle. 

This panel discussion features faculty poets from the University of Arizona Creative Writing MFA Program. Alison Hawthorne Deming, Boyer Rickel, Jane Miller, and Steve Orlen participate in a dialogue about the writing process, moderated by Barbara Cully.

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. 

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

A celebration of the fairy tale, featuring readings from authors included in My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me (2010), an anthology of new fairy tales edited by Kate Bernheimer.

Franz Wright discusses a wide range of topics, including Rilke, translation, and the writing life.

At the 2012 Poetry Off the Page Symposium, Elizabeth Frankie Rollins moderates a panel discussion with Julie Carr, Duriel E. Harris, K. J. Holmes, Douglas Kearney, Dawn Lundy Martin, Julie Ezelle Patton, and Ronaldo V. Wilson.

CAConrad reads poems from The Book of Frank (2009), A Beautiful Marsupial Afternoon: New (Soma)tics (2012), and Translucent Salamander: A (Soma)tic Poetry Ritual and Resulting Poems (2013), along with new and uncollected work.

Margarita Engle delivers a lecture on poetry as a vehicle for historical exploration; she also reads poems from The Lightning Dreamer (2013) and Silver People (2014).

Leslie Ullman discusses process and reads poems from her collection Natural Histories (1979), including "Bravado," "Fur," "Last Night They Heard the Woman Upstairs," and "Midwife"; she also reads poems that would go on to be collected in Dreams by No One's Daughter (1987).

Poetry Center Interim Director Mark Wunderlich and Events Coordinator Karen Falkenstrom talk about the history of the Poetry Center from 1960 to 1995 on The Topic of Tucson, hosted by Vicki Doyle. They discuss the art of poetry and read a few favorite poems from writers in the Poetry Center's 1995-1996 reading series.

In this question and answer session at Rincon High School, Byrd Baylor discusses her inspirations, writing process, and experience as a writer, in addition to her connection to nature, the land, and ceremonies. She also reads from I'm in Charge of Celebrations (1986). 

In this session at Rincon High School, Joy Harjo reads several poems from She Had Some Horses (1983) and In Mad Love and War (1990). She also provides suggestions for beginning writers and discusses the writing process.

Norman Fischer reads poems from I Was Blown Back (2005) and Questions/Places/Voices/Seasons (2009), along with one uncollected poem and a poem by Rodney Koeneke. He also answers questions from the audience.

Rubén Martínez discusses being at an impasse in writing, what he describes as surgimiento in Spanish, or emergence. His talk touches on his personal experience and writing, as well as work by other writers and artists.

Maggie Smith reads poems from Good Bones (2017) as well as other uncollected poems.

Arthur Sze reads from his poetry collection Sight Lines (2019).

Dean Young reads work from his collection Solar Perplexus (2019) as well as several uncollected poems. 

At this special event for middle school students, Celia C. Pérez talks about zines and her experiences as a writer. She reads briefly from her first book, The First Rule of Punk (2017). She then leads a hands-on workshop in which the students look at a selection of zines and create their own.

Dionne Irving reads the short story "An American Idea of Fun" from her second book, The Islands (2022). The story traces the impact of a summer spent in France across an American girl's life. Irving answers questions about the story, The Islands as a whole, and the writers and stories that have inspired her.