WEBVTT

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Well, it's an honor
for me to introduce

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two wonderful and
eminent poets here

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from the University of Arizona,
Luci Tapahonso and Alison

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Deming.

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Both of them write with
unusual sensitivity

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of the natural world
and its relationship

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with human nature, the
marriage of Earth and people.

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Human existence now
and in the future

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depends on this marriage, which,
in turn, is enhanced by writers

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like Luci and Alison.

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They take us deeper into the
turbulence, exhilaration,

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understanding, and calm
of genuine empathy.

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And in so doing, they work
against the destructive element

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of many human pursuits.

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We're going to first
hear from Alison Deming.

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She grew up in Connecticut,
becoming a Westerner

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almost 20 years ago when she
became director of the Poetry

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Center here in Tucson.

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I was particularly fortunate
to have Alison as a teacher

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and mentor when I became
an old person doing the MFA

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program at the University
of Arizona five years ago.

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I rarely experienced such
a good teacher in my life

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before my metamorphosis.

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Alison has published seven
books of poetry and essays

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as well as chapbooks and
anthologies, many poems

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and essays in journals.

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She's won many fellowships
and awards for her work,

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including the Pushcart Prize.

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A feature of Alison's
work dear to my heart

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is the way she can close the
gap between science and art.

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To that end, she has
also dedicated herself

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to understanding many
branches of science

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in order to bring its core ideas
to the world of literature.

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She shows in her writing
how we can connect more

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to our surroundings, how art
and science are connected,

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how an understanding
of the natural world

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enhances both our spiritual
and worldly endeavors.

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Unlike so many nature writers
who dream of the impossible,

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Alison knows that human
expansion in this limited world

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space must be accepted,
even as individuals

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endeavor to maintain their
true humanity through nature.

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So listen to an
interdisciplinary poet

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and writer who can combine
scientific insights and logic

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with thoughtful poetry,
combining earthy understanding

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with inspiring optimism.

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Alison's writing makes us
believe our species can

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do more than we believed.

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Our world is a place in
which to learn and grow

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as moral intellectual animals
as well as creative, sensual men

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and women.

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Alison.

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[APPLAUSE]

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