OK.
So my name is Cybele Knowles.
I'm the coordinator of the Poetry Center's Reading
and Lecture Series.
And I'm very pleased and very honored
to welcome you to tonight's event.
A reading by poets, J. Michael Martinez, Carmen Giménez Smith,
and Roberto Tejada.
This event is one installment in a national multiyear,
multi-state reading series called,
"Latino Latina Poetry Now" sponsored by Letras Latinas
and the Poetry Society of America.
We were very excited when Francisco Aragón,
the director of Letras Latinas, contacted us about a year ago
to see if we would like to host this reading.
So our answer was, yes, totally.
And for many reasons.
Because J. Michael, Carmen, and Roberto
are exciting contemporary poets whom we admire.
Because almost everyone who will be at this podium
tonight is published by our own University of Arizona Press.
And because this is Arizona, where Latino/a writing, art,
and culture is particularly important, relevant, present.
The University of Arizona is proud to have this opportunity
to help shine the light on Latino and Latina poetry now.
We have a full program tonight, so I'll
keep my announcements really brief.
We have over here for sale books by the poets
at 20% off the cover price.
After the reading, they'll be signing over there
at those tables.
So please do buy some books if you haven't already.
Get them signed and say hi to the poets afterwards.
For making the Poetry Center's participation in this event
possible, I thank the Poetry Center's donors,
especially the members of our Walt Whitman circle.
So how tonight's event will go is--
we'll have a welcome by Francisco Aragón,
then an introduction of the poets by Joshua Marie
Wilkinson, and then the readings.
After the readings there will be a Q&A session
moderated by Francisco, and then the book signing.
So I'm now very happy to introduce
the curator of this event, the director of Letras Latinas,
and editor and translator and teacher, a poet himself
who is the author of two books of poetry--
Glow of Our Sweat and Puerto Del Sol.
Please help me welcome Francisco Aragón.