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Hi, everyone.

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I'm Diana Delgado.

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I'm the literary director of
the University of Arizona Poetry

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Center.

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And I want to welcome
everyone to another episode

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of the Institute for
Inquiry and Poetics

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featuring ambassadors from our
Art for Justice Initiative.

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The Institute for
Inquiry and Poetics

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founded at the University
of Arizona Poetry Center

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is a thought center designed to
create space and time for poets

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to respond to pressing
questions that

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reside at the intersection
of social concern and poetry.

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Encouraging
interdisciplinary modalities

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and investigative
research, the Institute

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will ask poets a series
of questions and digitally

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archive their responses
on poetry.arizona.edu,

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in addition to YouTube and
the center's archive, Voca.

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Today, I'm excited to host
Vanessa Angélica Villarreal,

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Frank Johnson, and Raquel
Salas Rivera as part of Art

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for Justice, a three-year
project that commissioned

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new work from leading
writers in conversation

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with the crisis of mass
incarceration in the United

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States, all with the goal
of creating new awareness

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and empathy through
presentation and publication.

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Before we begin, the University
of Arizona Poetry Center

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must acknowledge that we exist
on the traditional homelands

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of the Tohono O'odham,
who have cared

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for these lands for centuries.

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As a guest in
these lands, I want

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to acknowledge that we are
on occupied Tohono O'odham

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territory.

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And in our program tonight,
each poet will read new work,

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and after the reading,
we'll be in conversation.

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Thank you everyone for
being with us here today.

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As our first reader, I'd like
to introduce Frank Johnson.

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Frank Johnson is a Black
poet, cultural critic,

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and visual artist
from East Las Vegas.

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He received his MFA in 2019 from
the University of Nevada, Las

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Vegas, where his
manuscript Literal

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Dope won the University prize
for Outstanding Master's

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Thesis.

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Frank's work has been featured
in the Believer, Gen Magazine,

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Level Magazine, Los
Angeles Review of Books,

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The Shallow End, The Rumpus,
and Desert Companion.

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He has previously been awarded
the Black Mountain Institute

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Donald Barlow
Fellowship, has worked

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as an editorial assistant
for the Believer,

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and currently works
in collaboration

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with Jack Jones Literary Arts
as a book publicist and programs

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assistant.

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Thank you, Frank, for
being with us here today.