Well, it's an honor for me to introduce
two wonderful and eminent poets here
from the University of Arizona, Luci Tapahonso and Alison
Deming.
Both of them write with unusual sensitivity
of the natural world and its relationship
with human nature, the marriage of Earth and people.
Human existence now and in the future
depends on this marriage, which, in turn, is enhanced by writers
like Luci and Alison.
They take us deeper into the turbulence, exhilaration,
understanding, and calm of genuine empathy.
And in so doing, they work against the destructive element
of many human pursuits.
We're going to first hear from Alison Deming.
She grew up in Connecticut, becoming a Westerner
almost 20 years ago when she became director of the Poetry
Center here in Tucson.
I was particularly fortunate to have Alison as a teacher
and mentor when I became an old person doing the MFA
program at the University of Arizona five years ago.
I rarely experienced such a good teacher in my life
before my metamorphosis.
Alison has published seven books of poetry and essays
as well as chapbooks and anthologies, many poems
and essays in journals.
She's won many fellowships and awards for her work,
including the Pushcart Prize.
A feature of Alison's work dear to my heart
is the way she can close the gap between science and art.
To that end, she has also dedicated herself
to understanding many branches of science
in order to bring its core ideas to the world of literature.
She shows in her writing how we can connect more
to our surroundings, how art and science are connected,
how an understanding of the natural world
enhances both our spiritual and worldly endeavors.
Unlike so many nature writers who dream of the impossible,
Alison knows that human expansion in this limited world
space must be accepted, even as individuals
endeavor to maintain their true humanity through nature.
So listen to an interdisciplinary poet
and writer who can combine scientific insights and logic
with thoughtful poetry, combining earthy understanding
with inspiring optimism.
Alison's writing makes us believe our species can
do more than we believed.
Our world is a place in which to learn and grow
as moral intellectual animals as well as creative, sensual men
and women.
Alison.
[APPLAUSE]