Word S3 E7: National Poetry Month — Part 2
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National Poetry Month continues in the age of COVID-19.
And, in this episode, we are heading to Tucson, virtually, to check in with our neighbors in Southern Arizona.
Despite the shuttering of spoken word venues, poets are still sounding their barbaric yawps via social media and creative apps.
As we shine a virtual spotlight on poetry this April, recent Tucson transplant Diana Marie Delgado joins us to talk about her role as Literary Director at the University of Arizona Poetry Center and gives us a sample of her poetry which is widely published.
Fellow Tucson resident and U of A colleague Simmons Buntin also joins us.
Buntin has a diverse background as marketing and communications manager for the College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture at U of A.
He’s also a poet and editor of Terrain, one of the first online creative journals that dates back to the 90’s. Buntin also shares some of his writing.
Finally, Janel Spencer is a poet and literature teacher at a Tucson charter high school as well as Pima Community College.
We check in with her to hear how she and her students are coping via virtual instruction and also to hear a sample of her work.
As mentioned during our discussion, we reference an article written by Erik Rittenbery, specifically a pull quote from Beat Generation founder, writer and poet Jack Kerouac.
“Perhaps a revolution is upon us, a revolution of higher consciousness and poetic simplicity — an overdue middle-finger to the idol of progress and a return back to the soul-nurturing, elemental things. “The closer you get to real matter, rock air fire and wood, boy, the more spiritual the world is.”
We’ll be back at the end of April with our final installment for National Poetry Month.
In the meantime, send us an email. We’d love to read your ideas for future topics and guests or even just something you liked about this episode.
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