WEBVTT

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Hello, everybody.

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How are you doing?

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Good.

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All right.

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Well done.

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Choosing wisely on
a Thursday night.

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Glad to see folks here
in Tucson joining us

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for this reading in particular.

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And we're so thrilled to
have this reading happening

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at the Poetry Center.

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And so I want to
especially welcome

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the poets who are coming
here tonight to be with us,

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and this includes Vanessa
Angélica Villarreal, Roque

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Raquel Salas Rivera,
and Sin à Tes Souhaits,

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all writers who were ambassadors
in the Poetry Center's Art

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for Justice project
and all of whom

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had to participate remotely
when we were doing this project.

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And so we zoomed them in
for these original readings,

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commissioned work from
them, and they read for us,

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but through the rectangles
of their computers.

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And we watched them through the
rectangles of our computers.

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It's a big deal
that they've chosen

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to be here, that we've been
able to bring them all back

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in their corporeal forms.

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So round of applause
to poets who have

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traveled to be here with us.

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[APPLAUSE]

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We are likewise absolutely
thrilled to welcome back

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Diana Delgado, who's the
former literary director here

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at the Poetry Center and
who has done incredible work

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editing this anthology
that, again, collects much

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of the work that was created
for the Art for Justice Project

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and more.

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It's just out from
Haymarket Books.

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This is the second launch
event following programs

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that happened earlier in
March in Chicago at the Poetry

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Foundation and at
Haymarket House, which

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houses Haymarket Books, which is
the publisher of the anthology.

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Additional launch
events are upcoming.

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So next week, the show goes on
the road to the AWP Conference,

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and they'll be launch
events that happen there.

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And then later,
there'll be events

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that happen in New York
City, at Poets House,

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and then likely even
more beyond that.

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So if you're listening or
zooming in from far away

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and you're in LA or in
New York, please join us

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for those programs or
the others that will

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be coming up down the line.

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The topic of this anthology and
of the Art for Justice Project,

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of Like a Hammer, has
never not been more germane

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to everyday existence
than it is right now,

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but it is in bright
relief in this moment

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with what I will call the
spectacle of asylum seeking

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and deportation, with a new
onslaught of camera-ready scenes

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designed for political
gain and for media clicks,

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and eventually for profit, and
beyond any human dimensions that

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animate the moments that are
buried right before our eyes.

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And I'm really grateful
to the work of this book

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and to these poets
in particular,

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especially in this moment,
and for coming here

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to help share it with us.

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Before I welcome Diana
up to tell us more,

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I want to keep everybody in the
loop about some things that are

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coming up at the Poetry Center.

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On September 22,
Saturday of this--

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two days away.

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Two days away.

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Saturday.

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The Haiku Hike in
downtown Tucson

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is happening at 9
o'clock, for folks

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that might want to do that.

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The haikus are judged by
TC Tolbert, our Tucson poet

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laureate.

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For those that want
to partake in that,

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it'll be walking along the
route where those are posted.

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There's 20 pieces, a kind
of chorus of Tucson voices.

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We'll be leaving at 9:00 AM
from the Hotel Congress patio

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and then exploring those
together and reading them

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together along the way.

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It should be a great
way to start a Saturday.

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Come join us if you like.

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Next up in the reading
series, back here

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on April 3 at the
Poetry Center, we'll

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have a reading from Alison
Deming and from Sally Ball,

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and we're really excited
about that event.

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That's 7 o'clock back
here on Thursday, April 3.

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And then on April 10, we'll have
former US poet laureate Robert

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Pinsky coming back to Tucson
to do a reading for us,

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also back here at 7 o'clock
at the Poetry Center.

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Hope we'll see you on
those upcoming Thursdays.

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One addition to
the reading tonight

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is a series of films,
film shorts that

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are based on poems,
either in the anthology

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or created by folks that
are in the anthology.

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These have been commissioned by
the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry

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Foundation, and Diana is one of
the co-producers of these films.

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The same films are currently
featured in a pop-up exhibit

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at the Poetry Center that will
be up through the 29th of this

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month.

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And so as you see these tonight,
if you're excited and thinking

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about what you've seen,
want to explore them more,

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you can visit them again in
the Poetry Center this week.

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They're on a continuous
loop during our open hours.

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Easy to see.

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And if you have any
questions about any of that,

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ask me or check in with
one of our librarians.

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We're really excited
to be hosting

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that in the library space.

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Books are for sale,
including this anthology

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that's just in the world.

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It's absolutely beautiful.

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It's an incredible
piece of work.

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They're over here on my right.

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And so after the
reading, if you're

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interested in purchasing
books, there's also books

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by the poets that are here.

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Please come purchase those.

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I know that folks will
be happy to talk to you,

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sign books, talk more about
the work in this project.

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I'm going to welcome up and
introduce Diana Delgado, who

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is no stranger to this spot.

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And so it's exciting to
welcome her back to this space.

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Diana is a poet and
advocate for social justice.

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Her work delves into
community, resilience,

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and the lived experience
of marginalized voices.

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She's partnered with a
range of organizations,

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including the Clinton
Foundation, the Coalition

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for Hispanic Family Services,
this Poetry Center and Hugo

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House, driving
initiatives in each

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of those spaces that amplify
underrepresented voices

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in the arts.

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Her terrific first
poetry collection

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is called Tracing
the Horse, and it

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was a New York Times notable
new and noteworthy book.

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Her chapbook, Late-Night Talks
with Men I Think I Trust,

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won the 2015 Center
for Book Arts Award.

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I mentioned her work
just a moment ago,

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producing these films that
will soon see this evening.

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And perhaps above
all these things,

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I want you to join me in
celebrating with big applause

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the many, many years of work
that have built this anthology

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and brought it to life.

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It's been a huge effort.

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It's a beautiful book.

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It's a massive undertaking.

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Please help me
celebrate Diana Delgado.

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[CHEERS, APPLAUSE]