The latest Tucson Poetry Festival will be held this weekend, April 23-24, 2022, at a variety of fantastic venues in the Tucson area. Our theme this year is “Poetry and Pause.”

On Saturday morning beginning at 10:00 a.m., our featured poets TC Tolbert, Lauren Camp, Eleanor Kedney, and Susan Briante will lead four poetry workshops. Three of these workshops have already filled up, but there are a few more seats left for Kedney’s “How Craft Functions in Writing about Addiction” workshop. Kedney is the author of Between the Earth and Sky (C&R Press, 2020), a finalist and recipient of several poetry awards, and the founder of the Tucson branch of the New York-based Writers Studio, which also means she is a fantastic instructor with the craft expertise to help poets write about addiction or any complex and emotional subject with care and insight. The venue for these workshops is perfect and everyone who registers will be provided the location.

Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m., we move to the Tucson Museum of Art for the Featured Poets reading. Come hear the poets read from their latest works, and perhaps they will also read new poetry! With the weather expected to be beautiful, we’ll be out in the museum’s Sculpture Garden for the reading.

Then, on Sunday at 11:00 a.m., the Tucson Poetry Festival will move to LaCo (La Cocina) Restaurant & Cantina for brunch and an open mic. Come for the delicious brunch while enjoying a reading by local poets.

I am stepping down as a Tucson Poetry Festival Board Member after this year’s event. It has been an incredible experience helping to organize the Festival. I’ve had the chance to suggest and welcome some of my favorite poets while discovering new favorite poets. I’ve learned so much from them in their workshops and from reading and hearing their poems. I’ve helped organize and lead amazing winter fundraising workshops with support from the local literary community. And I’ve worked with some truly wonderful Board Members, including our Director, Melanie Madden. I’m going to miss everyone, but I value these years and this experience greatly.

But before I leave Arizona, I’m going to enjoy this weekend’s Tucson Poetry Festival. Perhaps I’ll even read some of my own new poetry at the open mic on Sunday.

Come join us!