Editor’s note: Poetry Lines is a new monthly feature from the University of Arizona Poetry Center. Check this column on the last Sunday of each month for news on poetry and poetry happenings in the Old Pueblo.
Did you know that Tucson is a world-class literary destination? Just ask University of Arizona faculty member and award-winning poet/publisher Ander Monson, who gave a tour of Tucson’s digital, physical and personal highlights in last month’s Poets and Writers magazine, bit.ly/AurmYn
We agree that Tucson has a lot to offer the writerly/readerly inclined; listed here is just a small sampling of the many diverse readings and events happening in March. For more listings, check the calendar.
• Poetry Out Loud Regional Finals Performance (created by the National Endowment of the Arts and The Poetry Foundation)
Watch and listen to great poetry performed by high school students throughout Southern Arizona as they compete for the chance to proceed to the state and national finals competition. The contest encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. 7 p.m. Thursday at the Poetry Center, 1508 E. Helen St., 626-3765.
• Paul Guest
This event is co-sponsored by the UA Disability Resource Center. Paul Guest is the author of three volumes of poetry and one memoir. He is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Whiting Writers’ Award. Disabilities Study Quarterly Reviews editor says “to read Paul Guest’s poetry is to expect the unexpected, to release oneself to dazzle, to performance, to the hurtle of his images, and the kind of strong emotional shifts that make one marvel at how the poem is able to contain such vast range.” Guest will read 7 p.m. March 22 at the Poetry Center.
• Family Days
Need something fun to do on a Saturday morning with your kids? Once a month, the Poetry Center’s quiet library transforms into a creative and inspiring playground, offering everything from workshops and dancing to science experiments, and singalongs. This month, Opening Minds Through the Arts will present a student performance of Shel Silverstein’s “Where the Sidewalk Ends” in Persian. 10-1 p.m.March 24 at the Poetry Center.
• Poetry off the Page
The Poetry Center presents its third biennial international symposium, “Poetry Off the Page,” May 18-20.
This year’s symposium will gather poets who work in collaborative or hybrid forms. Register for the symposium now for early-bird rates. bit.ly/w7jwHm
• POG Poetry Reading: David Shapiro
David Shapiro, sometimes identified with the New York School, has also written studies of notable artists. Co-sponsored by Arizona Quarterly. 6-7 p.m. March 31. $5 general, $3 students. The Drawing Studio, 33 S. Sixth Ave.
Annie Guthrie is a poet, artist and member of the UA Poetry Center staff. To submit information on poetry events, go to dailystarcalendar.com – information will be forwarded to the Poetry Center. For a full listing of events, check dailystarcalendar.com