[CLAPPING]
[INDISTINCT SPEECH]
Oh.
Thank you.
Thank you, Tyler.
And I want to first start with a little Terrain.org swag
because don't know if you have a hat, Tyler.
I don't.
And I want to make sure that you have one.
I only brought two of the hats, but I
want Paola to come on up here and get one of these as well.
So there you go.
Thank you.
So you are required to wear those from now on forever.
So--
Thank you.
--I only took mine off for this evening, in fact.
Tyler, really, thank you so much for having us and thanks
all of you for coming out.
I want to thank the wonderful staff of the Poetry Center.
I know that this is a remarkable place, right,
and we're fortunate that we have it in our community.
And it wasn't so long ago that I was
a student at the University of Arizona in the MFA program,
taking classes right up there, and I
think that was about 2007 because I was in the MFA
when we moved over into this building.
That was really a sacred time for me
personally to focus on literature
in such a magnificent place, and it was a celebratory time
too because I think of the new building that we had,
the amazing faculty who we worked with,
some of whom we've lost recently unfortunately,
my fellow students who were all amazing and--
not all of them-- annoying even which was kind of nice.
And the English department basketball league
in which I played every Friday afternoon until I
pulled my hamstring anyway.
So tonight, of course, is celebratory too not so much
because you may see me jumping up and down following
tonight's program because the hamstring won't let me
or jumping maybe to keep warm from this chilly weather
although we don't have the doors open-- so we're OK--
but because Terrain.org which is the world's
first online literary journal of place
is celebrating 25 years of publishing as Tyler said.
So thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
Yay!
I feel like that is no small feat and worth celebrating,
right?
So here to help us celebrate, with their words
and their wisdom and this evening, their winter warmth,
are of course, Allison Adelle Hedge Coke and Derek
Sheffield who is the omnipotent Derek Sheffield
here this evening.
Unfortunately, for those who don't know,
Derek and I were texting through the afternoon
as his flight was delayed and delayed and delayed and then
finally canceled.
That was Alaska Airlines, and I probably
don't need to say more than that.
And Julie Swarstad Johnson who's joining us as well.
All Terrain.org contributors.
So I'm so excited that you all are reading
here with us this evening.
Thank you.
I will introduce Julie and Derek and Allison in that order
before each of their readings this evening.
And then, I will invite you to purchase their books.
And we'll probably say that several more times,
but that really helps out the poets as you may know,
which they will gladly sign for you after tonight's reading.
But first, I will remind you to pick up
one of these amazing broadsides if you don't have those yet.
Those were created by Juniper Moon and Dwell Press who
does amazing work.
So thank you, Juniper in the ethosphere
or wherever you are this evening.
They really are something, I think.