I've been appointed Tucson Poet Laureate

Truly wild news.

This morning the City of Tucson, in partnership with the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona and the University of Arizona Poetry Center, announced that I’ve been appointed Tucson Poet Laureate for a three year term, beginning now and running until 2029.

I’m honored to be seen in this way, and thrilled to step into the role. If you read this newsletter you’ve heard me call myself a cultural worker, which is a term that encompasses the political economy of being an artist and all the many types labor of participating in the arts ecosystem: yes, writing poems, but also setting up chairs, designing posters, booking events and above all: opening the door for others to step into those roles in their own ways.

There are so many great poets in this city, a true literary & arts ecosystem that I have felt lucky to contribute to for almost two decades. The way I understand it, this appointment was made based off that past work, but it is also an invitation (a dare!) to do something new.

In the coming months I’ll be sharing more about a new project, the ¡Somos Uno! Poetry & Storytelling Series, a season of events at venues across Tucson highlighting the intercultural, cross-generational and artistically diverse possibilities of poetry.

In some ways, this is what I’ve always done. In others, I’m standing at the beginning of an entirely new journey. If you’re reading this, if you’ve ever made it out to a show, read a poem of mine, bought a book, given me a ride, picked up the tab, booked me, recommended me – thank you. I am so deeply grateful to have been able to stay on this winding path so long and it’s only because I’m surrounded by good people like you.