WEBVTT

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OK, it's really great to see
everyone here to hear poetry.

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My name is Diana Delgado, I'm
the literary director here

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at the Poetry Center.

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And we are all excited
for tonight's presentation

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of Nikky Finney reading
from poems that she

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developed specifically for the
Art for Justice Initiative.

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I have had just the fantastic
experience of hanging out

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with Nikky, yesterday
in Phoenix, and today,

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and it just in Spanish,
yo soy muy emocionada.

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Like, I'm just super, super
happy as Selena would say.

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[LAUGHTER]

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So let me get right into it.

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I have a few, just
sort of an overview

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of what we have for tonight.

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So just a little bit more
information about Art

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for Justice.

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For some of you that don't
know, Art for Justice

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is a three-year grant that's
a grant-funded project that

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commissions new work
from leading writers

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to explore the relationship
between poetry and crisis

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of mass incarceration
in this country.

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And it's all done in
the hope of creating

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a new kind of
imaginative landscape

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with different possibilities.

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Nikky will be reading
tonight from new work

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that she has written
specifically for this evening.

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And we were really
excited and very grateful

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to the Ford Foundation
for their support.

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I want to remind everyone
about upcoming events

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that we have at
the Poetry Center,

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the inaugural Tom Sanders
Memorial Reading on February 21

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is happening at
7:00, and we will

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be featuring Peggy
Shumaker and Maurya Simon.

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And we will also have an
upcoming event in partnership

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with the Jewish
History Museum, which

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will feature poet Myriam
Moscona, and translators Jen

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Hofer and John
Pluecker, and that's

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going to be happening
on Wednesday, February

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27, at the Jewish
History Museum, and then

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here at the Poetry
Center on Thursday,

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February 28th, at 7:00 PM.

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Before Nikky is introduced by
a friend, a UA English faculty

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colleague, Stephanie
Troutman, one

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of the things that is part of
our Art for Justice Initiative

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is for us to spotlight
local and regional

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not-for-profit
organizations and artists,

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who are working
to advance issues

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related to carceral
justice before each

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of our poets reading.

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So tonight we're very excited to
hear from the American Friends

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Service Committee and the
work that they do in the area.

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I want to invite them up
now to take 20 minutes

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and tell us a little bit
more about their activities

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and their Reframing
Justice project.

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And then Stephanie will come
up and introduce Nikky Finney.

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And I just want
to thank everyone

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for being here tonight with us.

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[APPLAUSE]

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