WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.810 align:middle line:90% Good evening. 00:00:00.810 --> 00:00:02.940 align:middle line:84% Thank you all so much for being here. 00:00:02.940 --> 00:00:05.810 align:middle line:84% It's always a thrill to see such an audience turn out 00:00:05.810 --> 00:00:07.640 align:middle line:84% for poetry in Tucson and especially 00:00:07.640 --> 00:00:10.790 align:middle line:84% to turn up for our three poets tonight 00:00:10.790 --> 00:00:13.370 align:middle line:84% and celebrating this new exhibit, The Place 00:00:13.370 --> 00:00:15.560 align:middle line:90% Where Clouds Are Formed. 00:00:15.560 --> 00:00:17.570 align:middle line:84% My name is Julie Swarstad Johnson, 00:00:17.570 --> 00:00:19.910 align:middle line:84% and I'm the archivist and outreach librarian here 00:00:19.910 --> 00:00:22.740 align:middle line:90% and I'm grateful to welcome you. 00:00:22.740 --> 00:00:26.570 align:middle line:84% It's a privilege to present this exhibit in collaboration 00:00:26.570 --> 00:00:28.670 align:middle line:84% with the Center for Creative Photography. 00:00:28.670 --> 00:00:31.340 align:middle line:84% And we're honored to celebrate the exhibit's opening tonight 00:00:31.340 --> 00:00:34.250 align:middle line:84% with this reading by Su:k Chu:vak Fulwilder, 00:00:34.250 --> 00:00:38.000 align:middle line:84% Amber Lee Ortega, and Ofelia Zepeda. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:41.630 align:middle line:84% Quickly, before I introduce the project and our readers, 00:00:41.630 --> 00:00:44.720 align:middle line:84% just a couple events coming up this month to tell you about. 00:00:44.720 --> 00:00:48.200 align:middle line:84% Brenda Lozano was set to read on April 11, which 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:49.500 align:middle line:90% was a week from tonight. 00:00:49.500 --> 00:00:51.800 align:middle line:84% That's been postponed to August 29. 00:00:51.800 --> 00:00:55.220 align:middle line:84% So you get a week off but come back in August. 00:00:55.220 --> 00:00:59.910 align:middle line:84% The Tucson Poetry Festival is next weekend, August 13 and 14. 00:00:59.910 --> 00:01:02.700 align:middle line:84% There's a free reading on Saturday the 13th, 00:01:02.700 --> 00:01:06.570 align:middle line:84% 7 PM at the Temple of Music and Art with Victoria Chang, 00:01:06.570 --> 00:01:10.380 align:middle line:84% Rae Gouirand, Gabriel Dozal, who's here tonight, 00:01:10.380 --> 00:01:11.850 align:middle line:90% and Wyatt Welch. 00:01:11.850 --> 00:01:13.620 align:middle line:84% And you can find more information 00:01:13.620 --> 00:01:16.470 align:middle line:90% at tucsonpoetryfest.org. 00:01:16.470 --> 00:01:19.800 align:middle line:84% In two weeks, we will have a reading on April 18. 00:01:19.800 --> 00:01:22.890 align:middle line:84% You can come at 7 PM to hear Mexican poet Natalia 00:01:22.890 --> 00:01:26.040 align:middle line:84% Toledo and her translator Clare Sullivan. 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:30.640 align:middle line:84% On Saturday April 20, our very fun Kids Create event returns. 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:33.330 align:middle line:84% So if you have kids 10 or younger in your life, 00:01:33.330 --> 00:01:38.580 align:middle line:84% bring them here from 10 AM to 1 PM for poetry events. 00:01:38.580 --> 00:01:41.790 align:middle line:84% On Tuesday, April 23 at 5 PM, please 00:01:41.790 --> 00:01:43.470 align:middle line:84% join us to celebrate the completion 00:01:43.470 --> 00:01:45.207 align:middle line:90% of six murals along Speedway. 00:01:45.207 --> 00:01:47.790 align:middle line:84% I don't know if you've noticed that there are new murals going 00:01:47.790 --> 00:01:49.450 align:middle line:90% in but they're poetry themed. 00:01:49.450 --> 00:01:52.050 align:middle line:84% So to celebrate that at 5 PM on that Tuesday, 00:01:52.050 --> 00:01:54.270 align:middle line:84% we will be having an ice cream social. 00:01:54.270 --> 00:01:55.600 align:middle line:90% Wow, I'm excited. 00:01:55.600 --> 00:01:59.940 align:middle line:84% [CHUCKLES] And then also, there will be a self-paced walking 00:01:59.940 --> 00:02:01.980 align:middle line:90% or rolling tour of the murals. 00:02:01.980 --> 00:02:04.350 align:middle line:90% Details are online. 00:02:04.350 --> 00:02:07.890 align:middle line:84% Related to this exhibit, you're invited to continue celebrating 00:02:07.890 --> 00:02:10.169 align:middle line:84% The Place Where Clouds Are Formed this Saturday, 00:02:10.169 --> 00:02:13.500 align:middle line:84% so two days from now, April 6 at the Center for Creative 00:02:13.500 --> 00:02:17.420 align:middle line:84% Photography, we'll have an artist panel from 10:00 to 11:30 00:02:17.420 --> 00:02:19.470 align:middle line:90% PM in the CCP. 00:02:19.470 --> 00:02:22.320 align:middle line:84% And you'll hear from our three readers tonight plus artist 00:02:22.320 --> 00:02:24.390 align:middle line:90% Monica Martínez-Díaz. 00:02:24.390 --> 00:02:27.750 align:middle line:84% Following the panel, there'll be a community celebration 00:02:27.750 --> 00:02:30.840 align:middle line:84% on the patio outside of the CCP with live music 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:34.420 align:middle line:84% by DJ MizSkoden, a poetry station with Logan Phillips, 00:02:34.420 --> 00:02:38.370 align:middle line:84% who's also here somewhere, and an art-making station with David 00:02:38.370 --> 00:02:39.450 align:middle line:90% Contreras. 00:02:39.450 --> 00:02:41.970 align:middle line:84% The CCP portion of the exhibit officially 00:02:41.970 --> 00:02:43.510 align:middle line:90% opens that day, Saturday. 00:02:43.510 --> 00:02:45.510 align:middle line:84% So it's the perfect time to go check it out. 00:02:45.510 --> 00:02:48.540 align:middle line:84% And it's absolutely beautiful in that space. 00:02:48.540 --> 00:02:51.250 align:middle line:84% Finally, if you didn't get to see the exhibit here, 00:02:51.250 --> 00:02:52.560 align:middle line:90% which is over in the library-- 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:55.830 align:middle line:84% it's in the lobby and then back behind the stacks-- 00:02:55.830 --> 00:02:58.380 align:middle line:84% we are going to reopen the building 00:02:58.380 --> 00:03:00.668 align:middle line:84% after the reading tonight just for about half an hour. 00:03:00.668 --> 00:03:03.210 align:middle line:84% So you're welcome, if you didn't see it, to go across the way 00:03:03.210 --> 00:03:04.560 align:middle line:90% and check it out. 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:07.110 align:middle line:84% You also can come back any time that we're open, 00:03:07.110 --> 00:03:12.120 align:middle line:84% so we hope you'll spend time with this beautiful exhibit. 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:17.020 align:middle line:84% So as we begin tonight with all of those announcements over, 00:03:17.020 --> 00:03:20.500 align:middle line:84% we respectfully acknowledge that the University of Arizona, 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:23.200 align:middle line:84% including the Poetry Center and the Center for Creative 00:03:23.200 --> 00:03:26.920 align:middle line:84% Photography, is on the land and territories of Indigenous 00:03:26.920 --> 00:03:28.690 align:middle line:90% peoples. 00:03:28.690 --> 00:03:32.740 align:middle line:84% Today Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized tribes 00:03:32.740 --> 00:03:36.250 align:middle line:84% with Tucson being home to the O'odham and the Yaqui. 00:03:36.250 --> 00:03:38.530 align:middle line:84% Committed to diversity and inclusion, 00:03:38.530 --> 00:03:41.830 align:middle line:84% the university strives to build sustainable relationships 00:03:41.830 --> 00:03:45.130 align:middle line:84% with sovereign native nations and Indigenous communities 00:03:45.130 --> 00:03:47.750 align:middle line:84% through education offerings, partnerships, 00:03:47.750 --> 00:03:51.320 align:middle line:90% and community service. 00:03:51.320 --> 00:03:54.890 align:middle line:84% The Place Where Clouds Are Formed is a dynamic collective 00:03:54.890 --> 00:03:58.520 align:middle line:84% of artists working in photography, poetry, 00:03:58.520 --> 00:04:01.790 align:middle line:84% paper sculpture, and photography-based installation 00:04:01.790 --> 00:04:03.540 align:middle line:90% among just a few-- 00:04:03.540 --> 00:04:05.240 align:middle line:90% there even more than that. 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:08.360 align:middle line:84% Their work considers spirituality, migration, 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:11.300 align:middle line:84% and the policies that have disrupted the traditional lands 00:04:11.300 --> 00:04:12.890 align:middle line:90% of the Tohono O'odham. 00:04:12.890 --> 00:04:15.860 align:middle line:84% The project aims to reorient the narrative away 00:04:15.860 --> 00:04:20.149 align:middle line:84% from geopolitical concerns and towards the genealogical stories 00:04:20.149 --> 00:04:23.120 align:middle line:84% and religious and cultural traditions of the people 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:25.750 align:middle line:90% who live and migrate here. 00:04:25.750 --> 00:04:29.260 align:middle line:84% The project began in 2018 as a collaboration 00:04:29.260 --> 00:04:32.440 align:middle line:84% between Tohono O'odham poet and Regents Professor Ofelia 00:04:32.440 --> 00:04:36.560 align:middle line:84% Zepeda, photographer Gareth Smit, who's also here tonight, 00:04:36.560 --> 00:04:39.850 align:middle line:84% and writer, translator, and researcher Martín Zícari who's 00:04:39.850 --> 00:04:41.890 align:middle line:90% also here tonight. 00:04:41.890 --> 00:04:44.800 align:middle line:84% From their initial pairing of Dr. Zepeda's poem 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:47.350 align:middle line:84% with Smit's documentary photography, 00:04:47.350 --> 00:04:51.580 align:middle line:84% this project keeps expanding to include new voices across four 00:04:51.580 --> 00:04:52.780 align:middle line:90% prior exhibitions. 00:04:52.780 --> 00:04:54.850 align:middle line:84% So this is the fifth installation of this, 00:04:54.850 --> 00:04:57.190 align:middle line:84% and it keeps changing every time. 00:04:57.190 --> 00:04:59.350 align:middle line:84% In this fifth iteration of the project, 00:04:59.350 --> 00:05:02.995 align:middle line:84% we're grateful to present work by the founding trio plus Amber 00:05:02.995 --> 00:05:07.690 align:middle line:84% Lee Ortega, Su:k Chu:vak Fulwider, Monica Martínez-Díaz, 00:05:07.690 --> 00:05:11.200 align:middle line:84% and Terrol Dew Johnson in collaboration with Chris Lasch 00:05:11.200 --> 00:05:13.650 align:middle line:90% and Alice Wilsey. 00:05:13.650 --> 00:05:16.710 align:middle line:84% There's so many people to thank for this exhibit but the first 00:05:16.710 --> 00:05:18.870 align:middle line:84% that I want to say is thank you to the artists. 00:05:18.870 --> 00:05:22.660 align:middle line:84% We're truly honored to be able to show your work in this space. 00:05:22.660 --> 00:05:25.740 align:middle line:84% Thank you, Gareth, Martín, and Ofelia, for all of the work 00:05:25.740 --> 00:05:28.770 align:middle line:84% that you've done over many years to coordinate this. 00:05:28.770 --> 00:05:31.110 align:middle line:84% And special thanks go to my co-curators 00:05:31.110 --> 00:05:34.800 align:middle line:84% for this exhibit, Denisse Brito from the Center for Creative 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:35.460 align:middle line:90% Photography. 00:05:35.460 --> 00:05:37.200 align:middle line:84% She's the learning and engagement manager 00:05:37.200 --> 00:05:38.460 align:middle line:90% and is right in front of me. 00:05:38.460 --> 00:05:41.790 align:middle line:84% And then also, Jenna S. Green from the CCP. 00:05:41.790 --> 00:05:45.090 align:middle line:84% She's a graduate assistant and she's somewhere in the audience 00:05:45.090 --> 00:05:46.740 align:middle line:90% as well. 00:05:46.740 --> 00:05:48.450 align:middle line:84% The Place Where Clouds Are Formed 00:05:48.450 --> 00:05:51.330 align:middle line:84% wishes to thank the University of Arizona Confluence Center 00:05:51.330 --> 00:05:54.690 align:middle line:84% Fronteridades Project, which is made possible through a grant 00:05:54.690 --> 00:05:56.370 align:middle line:90% from the Mellon Foundation. 00:05:56.370 --> 00:05:58.860 align:middle line:84% Thank you, finally, to the Poetry Center staff 00:05:58.860 --> 00:06:03.180 align:middle line:84% and especially Paola Valenzuela, who's somewhere, 00:06:03.180 --> 00:06:06.970 align:middle line:84% and Tyler Meier for your support of this reading. 00:06:06.970 --> 00:06:08.730 align:middle line:84% So here's the format for tonight. 00:06:08.730 --> 00:06:12.030 align:middle line:84% I'll briefly introduce each poet just before they come up 00:06:12.030 --> 00:06:14.060 align:middle line:84% and we'll have-- they'll go in this order. 00:06:14.060 --> 00:06:16.300 align:middle line:84% So we'll hear first from Ofelia Zepeda, 00:06:16.300 --> 00:06:19.450 align:middle line:84% second from Su:k Chu:vak Fulwilder and then last from 00:06:19.450 --> 00:06:21.450 align:middle line:90% Amber Lee Ortega.