#ArtLitPhx: Poetry Reading: Sara Sams and Charles Simic

#artlitphxOctober 3, 7pm

This is a free event open to the public.
Reserve your spot at tickets.phxart.org

 

About the poets:

Sara Sams is a poet, essayist, and translator from Oak Ridge, Tennessee. She currently works as an instructor for Arizona State University’s College of Interdisciplinary Humanities & Communications, where she provides faculty support for the Superstition Review. She is a graduate of Davidson College (B.A.) and Arizona State University (M.F.A.), and has received teaching fellowships from the Ministry of Education of Spain and the National University of Singapore. – Saraesams.com

Charles Simic is perhaps our most disquieting muse. There are few poets writing in America today who share his lavish appetite for the bizarre, his inexhaustible repertoire of indelible characters and gestures. -The Harvard Review on Charles Simic. Excerpt taken from Poets.org.

 

Presented with the University of Arizona Poetry Center. Sponsored by the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing, the Creative Writing Program at Arizona State University, the Literary and Prologue Society of the Southwest, Superstition Review, and the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts.

Right image credit: Beowulf Sheehan, from Poets.org

#ArtLitPhx: Poetry Reading: Morgan Parker and Tommy Pico

#artlitphx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a free event open to the public.
Reserve your spot at tickets.phxart.org

About the poets:

Morgan Parker is the author of Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night (Switchback Books, 2015) and There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyonce (Tin House Books, 2017). She is a Cave Canem graduate fellow and a Pushcart Prize winner. With poet Angel Nafis, she runs The Other Black Girl Collective, an internationally touring Black Feminist poetry duo. She lives in Brooklyn. -Poetry Foundation

Tommy Pico is a writer and karaoke enthusiast. Originally from the Viejas Indian reservation of the Kumeyaay nation, he currently lives in Brooklyn. -Poetry Foundation

Presented with the University of Arizona Poetry Center. Sponsored by the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing, the Creative Writing Program at Arizona State University, the Literary and Prologue Society of the Southwest, Superstition Review, and the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts.

#ArtLitPhx: “Cli-Fi Bodies, Heart-Born Worlds” with Lidia Yuknavitch

 

National bestselling author Lidia Yuknavitch presents her talk “Cli-Fi Bodies, Heart-Born Worlds” First Friday, March 2nd, 2018 in the Whiteman Hall at the Phoenix Art Museum (1625 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004) at 7:00 p.m.

A growing number of contemporary Cli Fi novels are changing what we mean when we say dystopian fiction—Station Eleven, Borne, American War, Future Home of the Living God, and The Book of Joan are all examples where authors are asking how we might radically reinvent our relationship with the planet, each other, and ourselves. What if we loved the planet the way we claim to love our partners or children? What if being meant understanding our existence as relational to eco-systems and animals? What if that stuff we are made of, the matter of the cosmos and universe, isn’t as “out there” as we pretend; what if the stories inside of us, including our biology and physiology, our consciousness and emotions, have everything to do with what is around us? What if parallel universes or timelines—as reflected in new scientific discoveries as well as ancient indigenous forms of knowing—are informing our present tense? New directions in narrative help us ask more interesting questions about ourselves and the world—or worlds—we inhabit.

You can find out more information about about the event at at the Virginia G. Piper Center website and tickets here, but here are a few more details:

Lidia Yuknavitch is the author of the National Bestselling novels The Book of Joan and The Small Backs of Children, winner of the 2016 Oregon Book Award’s Ken Kesey Award for Fiction as well as the Reader’s Choice Award, the novel Dora: A Headcase, and three books of short stories. Her widely acclaimed memoir The Chronology of Water was a finalist for a PEN Center USA award for creative nonfiction and winner of a PNBA Award and the Oregon Book Award Reader’s Choice. She founded the workshop series Corporeal Writing in Portland Oregon, where she also teaches Women’s Studies, Film Studies, Writing, and Literature. She received her doctorate in Literature from the University of Oregon. She lives in Oregon with her husband Andy Mingo and their renaissance man son, Miles. She is a very good swimmer.

 

#ArtLitPhx: Legacies – A Conversation with Rita Dove, Sandra Cisneros, and Joy Harjo

Legacies

The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing is excited to announce “LEGACIES: A Conversation with Sandra Cisneros, Rita Dove, and Joy Harjo (Hosted by Natalie Diaz).” The event will take place Saturday, December 2 from 1:30pm to 3:00pm in the Great Hall, Beus Center for Law and Society, Rm. 141, Arizona State University, Downtown Phoenix (111 E Taylor St, Phoenix, AZ 85004).

Although the event itself is December 2, make sure to put this on your radar now! This is a ticketed event, and tickets will become available on Saturday, November 4, at 12pm with a limited waitlist. All tickets are free, and there will be no walk-ins for the event. You can see more details about ticketing on the Eventbrite page, and you can see more details on the event as a whole on the Piper website or the Facebook event page.

This event will be December 2, the day after the trio’s event at the Phoenix Art Museum, which is already sold out. So if you can’t make it to the Phoenix Art Museum event on Friday, December 1, the “Legacies” event is the perfect opportunity to see Joy Harjo, Rita Dove, and Sandra Cisneros in action – just make sure to get your tickets on November 4!

The Piper Center teases, “Three legends come together for the first time to discuss their paths through the American literary landscape.”

Sandra Cisneros is a poet, short story writer, novelist, and essayist whose work explores the lives of the working-class. She has received many awards, including (most recently) Chicago’s Fifth Star Award, the PEN Center USA Literary Award and the National Medal of the Arts, awarded to her by President Obama in 2016. The House on Mango Street has sold over five million copies, been translated into over twenty languages, and is required reading in elementary, high school, and universities across the nation.

Rita Dove is a former U.S. poet laureate, and she received her MFA in 1977 from the University of Iowa’s Writers Workshop, where she and her classmates Sandra Cisneros and Joy Harjo were the only non-white students at the time. From 1981 to 1989 she taught creative writing at Arizona State University – the final two years as the first and only African-American full professor in ASU’s English Department. Thomas and Beulah, a book she wrote while teaching at ASU, received the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in poetry. She was also the sole editor of The Penguin Anthology of Twentieth-Century American Poetry (2011). Her most recent book, Collected Poems 1974-2004, received the 2017 NAACP Image Award and was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award. Among her many other honors are the 2011 National Medal of Arts from President Obama, the 1996 National Humanities Medal from President Clinton (making her the only poet with both national medals), and 25 honorary degrees.

Joy Harjo’s eight books of poetry include Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings, How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems, and She Had Some Horses. Harjo’s memoir Crazy Brave won the PEN USA Literary Award for Creative Non-Fiction and the American Book Award. She is the recipient of the 2015 Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets for proven mastery in the art of poetry, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America, and the United States Artist Fellowship. In 2014 she was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. A renowned musician, Harjo performs with her saxophone nationally and internationally, solo and with her band, the Arrow Dynamics. She has five award-winning CDs of music, and won a Native American Music Award for Best Female Artist of the Year in 2009.

Legacies is presented by archiTEXTS and the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing with support from the Labriola National American Indian Data Center and the University of Arizona Poetry Center.

#ArtLitPhx: Phoenix Poetry Series ft. Leah Marche & Jabari Jawan

Phoenix Poetry Series Leah Marche and Jabari Jawan

The Phoenix Poetry Series showcases some of the best poets in our community. This month spotlights Leah Marche and Jabari Jawan, who will be performing at Fillmore Coffee Co. (600 North 4th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85004) on Friday, September 22 at 6pm.

Leah Marche is a two-time Phoenix National Poetry Slam team member who has presented and performed at many events, including Scottsdale Arts’ Canal Convergence, Phoenix Art Museum Local Opener, TEDx Phoenix/Scottsdale, Ignite Phoenix, and Arizona Storytellers Project. She was listed among Phoenix New Times’ 100 Creatives, and she is also the creator of LIVE POETIC and Black Horizons Fest, a co-founder of Storyscope and BlackPoet Ventures, and part of the Talking Drum Performance Studio.

Jabari Jawan is a poet from the South Side of Chicago, Illinois who has received fellowships from the Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation and The Home School. He has performed alongside his literary mother Patricia Smith in honor of Samuel R. Delaney. His work either appears in or is forthcoming from Peregrinos y sus letras, The Shade Journal, Vinyl Poetry & Prose, and more. He is also an Associate Editor of Four Chambers Press.

As the Phoenix Poetry Series says, “We’re all about making poetry relevant in our community, and so if you’re still not convinced that poets are creating platforms and inciting change, this reading is a must!”

For more information, please visit the Facebook page.

#ArtLitPhx: The Comedy of Coping with Kim Stanley Robinson

Kim Stanley Robinson

The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing is proud to present Kim Stanley Robinson in his talk, “The Comedy of Coping, Alarm and Resolve in Climate Fiction.” The event, which will feature a talk, a Q&A, and a signing, will take place on Wednesday, September 20 from 7pm to 9pm at the Phoenix Art Museum (1625 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004). The event is open to the public and free.

The talk is presented by the Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative at ASU, a partnership between ASU’s Center for Science and the Imagination and The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing. More information on the talk (and an RSVP) can be found at the Virginia G. Piper Center website, but here is a bit more information about Robinson’s topic:

In his talk, Robinson will explore the story and science in his latest novel, New York 2140, to argue against gloomy, apocalyptic thinking and in favor of technological ingenuity and dynamic social change. While the effects of climate change are undeniable, the future doesn’t have to be an unavoidable catastrophe. Ultimately, Robinson argues, this kind of dystopian, pessimistic approach muddles the political, social, and economic causes of climate change and prevents us from taking more meaningful actions to address the issues before it’s too late. What kinds of stories should we be telling ourselves in the face of impending calamity? How do we balance the desire to be both inspired and disturbed? How can literature act as a constructive response to existential risk?

You can also find more information on the event’s Facebook page.

#ArtLitPhx: U of A Poetry Center Presents Forrest Gander

Forrest GanderForrest Gander will read poetry at the Phoenix Art Museum 1625 N. Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004 on March 3rd from 7pm to 9pm.

Local poet Giancarlo Huapaya will open.

After the reading there will be a short Q&A and a book signing.

Superstition Review is proud to co-sponsor this event with The Poetry Center at The University of Arizona.

See The Poetry Center’s website for more information.

Forrest Gander is a poet, translator, essayist, and editor of several anthologies of writing from Spain and Mexico. His 2011 poetry collection Core Samples from the World was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award and his works include novels and poetry. His essay collection Faithful Existence: Reading, Memory & Transcendence have appeared in The Nation, The Boston Review, and the New York Times Book Review, among others. He is the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim, Howard, and Whiting Foundations, and he has received two Gertrude Stein Awards for Innovative Poetry.

#ArtLitPhx: Author + Talk with Jan Krulick-Belin

AuthorTalkJan

Arizona Humanities presents author Jan Krulick-Belin. Belin talk is based on her book, Love, Bill: Finding My Father through Letters from World War II. The event takes place on Wednesday, November 2 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Arizona Humanities. 1242 N Central Ave, Phoenix, Arizona 85004. For more information please visit the Facebook event or register here. The event is free and open to the public.

Jan Krulick-Belin is a museum and art consultant, and art and jewelry historian with nearly forty years of experience at such institutions as the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Denver Art Museum, Beaumont (Texas) Art Museum, and Smithsonian Institution. Retired as Director of Education at the Phoenix Art Museum, she still works with museums, art organizations, and private collectors, and serves as guest curator at the Sylvia Plotkin Judaica Museum in Phoenix.

#ArtLitPhx: Brenda Hillman & Robert Hass at the Phoenix Art Museum

Robert-Hass-Brenda-Hillman-Oct7

The University of Arizona Poetry Center presents distinguished poets Brenda Hillman and Robert Hass at the Phoenix Art Museum. The event takes place on Friday, October 7th at 7:00 p.m. After the reading, there will be a short Q&A and a book signing. The Poetry Center is proud to partner with the Phoenix Art Museum with additional support from ASU’s Creative Writing Program, Superstition Review, Four Chambers Press, and the Literary & Prologue Society of the Southwest.

Brenda Hillman is the author of nine collections of poetry: White Dress, Fortress, Death Tractates, Bright Existence, Loose Sugar, Cascadia, Pieces of Air in the Epic, Practical Water, for which she won the LA Times Book Award for Poetry, and Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire, which received the 2014 Griffin Poetry Prize and the Northern California Book Award for Poetry. Among the awards Hillman has received are the 2012 Academy of American Poets Fellowship, the 2005 William Carlos Williams Prize for poetry, and Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. In 2016 she was named Academy of American Poets Chancellor.

Robert Hass has published many books of poetry including Field Guide, Praise, Human Wishes, and Sun Under Wood, as well as a book of essays on poetry, Twentieth Century Pleasures. Hass translated many of the works of Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet, Czeslaw Milosz, and he edited Selected Poems: 1954-1986 by Tomas Transtromer, The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson, and Issa; Poet’s Choice: Poems for Everyday Life; and Modernist Women Poets: An Anthology (with Paul Ebenkamp). He was the guest editor of the 2001 edition of Best American Poetry. His essay collection Now & Then, which includes his Washington Post articles, was published in April 2007. As US Poet Laureate (1995-1997), his deep commitment to environmental issues led him to found River of Words (ROW), an organization that promotes environmental and arts education in affiliation with the Library of Congress Center for the Book.

Leah Marché will be opening the reading. Leah Marché is an arts entrepreneur, performance poet and journalist/writer. In 2005, she co-founded BlackPoet Ventures, a Valley-based performance arts company that produces spoken word theatrical performances.

For more information and updates, please visit the Facebook event.

Kehinde Wiley Upcoming Exhibition

A New Republic, WileyThe Phoenix Art Museum has an upcoming exhibition, Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic. The exhibition will run from October 7, 2016 to January 8, 2017. This exhibition will feature sixty paintings and sculptures by Wiley. Wiley has emerged as one of the leading American artists within the last decade. Known for his portraits, Wiley draws influence from traditional, aristocratic portraits to make his modern portraits. In doing so, Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic raises questions about race, gender, and the politics of representation.

For more information, visit the Phoenix Art Museum’s website. More information about the exhibit can be found at Kehinde Wiley’s website.