The Poetic Inventory of Saguaro National Park arrives at the University of Arizona Poetry Center on Monday, April 16, with a reception at 6:00 followed by a reading at 7:00 p.m. Witness the myriad styles and boundless creativity with which Tucson’s poetry community has painted the landscape of Saguaro National Park, one species at a time.
Writing-Wise
Librotraficante Smuggles Mind-Altering Prose into the Southwest
Recent political events in the Southwest, where Arizona has outlawed any K-12 curriculum that “advocates ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals,” have ignited a literary protest of national significance. On Monday, March 12, a caravan of formidable authors including Sandra Cisneros and Dagoberto Gilb left Houston on a tour spanning San Antonio, Albuquerque, and Tucson, where it arrives Friday, March 16.
New Content in the Vale
Have you ever wondered when to put a comma between two adjectives that fall before a noun? About five years ago, I started to brood over the commas-and-adjectives issue. Growing up, I learned that you always add a comma, but to my ear, that often seemed wrong. Was the rule on its way out of style completely, as I’d heard rumored? Yet, I still felt a pause between adjectives when I said phrases like, “It was a beautiful, seductive lie.” Didn’t a comma belong there?
National Geographic Bioblitz and Poetic Inventory of Saguaro National Park
It was my joy and honor to participate in the Poetic Inventory of Saguaro National Park Project this October. Wendy Burk and Eric Magraine, both poets and naturalists, put this project together in conjunction with the National Geographic Bioblitz, an event celebrating biodiversity at Saguaro National Park. One park a year is chosen to host this national event. This year, Tucson got the honor, and thousands of people enjoyed the opportunity to learn about the flora and fauna in our desert habitat.
My Second Guest Reading for Tucson, The Novel: An Experiment in Literature and Civil Discourse
Lately, I’ve been helping out my friend and editor Shannon Cain with her performance art project, Tucson The Novel: An Experiment in Literature and Civil Discourse. The experiment entails serializing her novel during the weekly Tucson Mayor and City Council Meetings’ public comment period. She gets three minutes a week to speak. Yes, it’s going to take years. When Shannon can’t make it, I have sometimes had the honor of filling in for her.