Tag: Tucson

TC Tolbert

October 22, 2025

TC Tolbert – Tucson Poet Laureate (2017 – 2023)

TC Tolbert serves as a vibrant and transformative voice in contemporary American poetry. Appointed as the Poet Laureate of Tucson in 2017, Tolbert guided the city’s literary engagement through 2023, shaping a poetic culture rooted in inclusion, empathy, and the desert’s quiet resilience. Tolbert’s years as laureate left a deep imprint on Arizona’s poetry community, from public readings in city parks to collaborations that brought poetry into schools, libraries, and neighborhood centers across Tucson.

About

Tolbert identifies as trans and genderqueer and often describes themself as a feminist, collaborator, dancer, poet — and simply “a human in love with humans doing human things.” Their artistic life embodies that statement. Holding an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona, Tolbert chose Tucson as both a personal refuge and a creative laboratory, drawn to its open skies, Sonoran landscape, and thriving community of artists.

Living in the desert, Tolbert has cultivated a poetic practice that moves fluidly between body and language. They frequently connect the motion of dance with the movement of words, treating poetry as choreography — a conversation between text, rhythm, and breath. This holistic approach to craft mirrors Tucson’s own cultural terrain, where art, activism, and environment often meet.

Literary Work & Contribution

Tolbert is the author of the full-length poetry collection Gephyromania (Ahsahta Press, 2014; reissued by Nightboat Books), a book that explores the idea of “bridge-building” — between genders, languages, and modes of becoming. The title, from the Greek gephyra meaning “bridge,” captures Tolbert’s ongoing fascination with transformation and the spaces between fixed identities.

They have also published several chapbooks, including Turning to Hear the Last Leaves of Stargazer Fall, I: Not He: Not I, and territories of folding. Each of these smaller works demonstrates Tolbert’s gift for merging lyrical precision with emotional experimentation.

As co-editor (with Trace Peterson) of Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics (Nightboat Books, 2013), Tolbert helped create one of the most influential anthologies of its kind. The volume gathers more than 50 writers and has become a cornerstone text in queer literary studies, used in classrooms nationwide. The project exemplifies Tolbert’s lifelong commitment to community-building through art.

Tolbert’s poems have appeared in leading journals and anthologies, including Prairie Schooner, Verse Daily, and Diagram. Their voice resonates for its honesty, courage, and linguistic grace — a blend of vulnerability and precision that continues to influence younger Arizona poets.

Advocacy, Community & Impact

During their six-year tenure as Tucson’s Poet Laureate, Tolbert expanded what civic poetry can do. In 2019, they were awarded an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship for their community projects connecting trans, non-binary, and queer residents through writing workshops and public readings.

Tolbert’s outreach programs emphasized poetry as both healing and social practice — a way for marginalized voices to see themselves represented and to find solidarity in language. They’ve led free writing circles, poetry walks, and cross-disciplinary performances blending movement, music, and verse. Many of these initiatives remain active today, facilitated by the poets Tolbert mentored.

In interviews, Tolbert has spoken of poetry as “a practice of attention and tenderness,” a way to “stay awake to our shared humanity.” This ethic has guided not only their public service but also their teaching at the University of Arizona and in workshops across the Southwest.

Why Tolbert Matters for Arizona Poetry

Voice & Visibility: As one of the first openly trans or genderqueer city poet laureates in the United States, TC Tolbert redefined what literary leadership can look like. Their visibility in Tucson’s cultural landscape continues to inspire inclusivity and representation in the arts.

Intersectional Practice: Tolbert’s poetry brings together identity, ecology, and activism. Their work captures both the physical beauty of the Sonoran Desert and the psychological landscapes of transition, belonging, and human connection — a union of place and self that feels uniquely Arizonan.

Bridge-Builder: True to the meaning of Gephyromania, Tolbert builds bridges — between people, disciplines, and communities. They bring poetry out of academic spaces and into everyday life, transforming classrooms, coffee shops, and public plazas into shared arenas of expression.

For Readers of AZPoetry.com

Tolbert invites readers to consider language as terrain — a landscape where identity, geography, and desire converge. Their work embodies the emotional texture of Tucson: sun-bleached, spacious, and full of quiet defiance.

For lovers of poetry, Tolbert offers a model of art as community practice. Their writing urges us to embrace ambiguity, nurture compassion, and recognize the bridges that connect us — not only across difference, but within ourselves. With deep respect for the desert and for those who inhabit it, TC Tolbert continues to expand the boundaries of Arizona poetry, shaping a more inclusive and resonant literary future.

Chelsea Guevara

September 16, 2025

Chelsea Guevara: U.S.-Salvadoran Voice, Slam Champ & Storyteller of Memory & Belonging

From Utah Roots to National Slam Triumph

Chelsea Guevara is a U.S.-Salvadoran poet and spoken word artist originally from Salt Lake City, Utah. In 2024, she made history by winning the Womxn of the World International Poetry Slam, becoming the first Salvadoran and the first Utahn to take home a national individual slam title.

Her work bridges languages, cultures, and generations. Drawing upon her family’s histories in El Salvador, her experience in Utah, and her identity as a Latina in the U.S., Chelsea weaves together storytelling, academia, and performance to explore themes of history, memory, identity, belonging, and resistance.

Academic Life & Creative Inquiry

Chelsea is currently engaged with the academic world. At the University of Arizona, she has pursued graduate studies in Latin American Studies (as of the latest info), and her coursework deeply informs her poetry. Her academic research—into Salvadoran history, diasporic identity, colonialism, and memory—provides the scaffolding for much of her creative work.

This blending of scholarship and artistry allows her poetry to function not just as aesthetic expression, but as a site of cultural reclamation and historical narrative. Her writing is attentive to both micro-moments (family, language, place) and macro-forces (migration, colonial legacies, social justice).

Published Works & Recognition

Chelsea’s published work includes:

Somewhere Over the Border (micro-chapbook): Finalist for the Gunpowder Press Alta California Chapbook Prize in 2023.
Her poetry has been featured in Button Poetry, Write About Now Poetry, Mapping Literary Utah, and others.
In 2025, she released her full-length collection Cipota with Button Poetry. Cipota explores intergenerational trauma, diaspora, memory, and the reclamation of identity.

Performance, Identity & Community

Chelsea is not just a poet on the page—she’s a performance poet with palpable stage presence. She has performed widely at slam events and spoken word venues, bringing emotional honesty, rich narrative detail, and cultural specificity to her performances. Winning Womxn of the World 2024 placed her squarely in the national spotlight for her ability to command a stage while telling deeply personal stories.

She is also active in organizing poetry events in Tucson, Arizona, helping to build community, nurture younger poets, and create space for Latinx and Central American voices. Her work in events aligns with an ongoing commitment to representation and justice through art.

Themes, Style & Influence

Chelsea’s poetic style is marked by:

Cultural Memory & Diaspora: Memories of El Salvador, family stories, migration, and border crossings appear often in her work.
Identity & Healing: Exploration of what it means to be U.S.-Salvadoran, the tension between past and present, and the personal as political.
Scholar/Poet Hybrid: Her academic background shapes her use of imagery, metaphor, and historical context—she often makes visible what is overlooked.
Performance Energy: Her poems are crafted not just to be read, but to be heard—she’s earned her slam title by giving words emotional power and urgency.

Her influences include both Latin American literary traditions and the spoken word community—she stands at the intersection of diaspora poetics and activism through language.

Key Milestones & Why Chelsea Matters in Arizona Poetry

First Salvadoran and Utahn to win a national individual slam (Womxn of the World, 2024) — a landmark achievement for representation.
Micro-chapbook Somewhere Over the Border recognized at a national level (Alta California prize finalist).
Publication of Cipota in 2025 with a major poetry platform (Button Poetry), helping her reach

14 Lines from Love Letters or Suicide Notes Doc Luben Poem Artwork

14 Lines From Love Letters Or Suicide Notes by Doc Luben

April 24, 2025

“14 Lines From Love Letters Or Suicide Notes” by Doc Luben

I
Don’t freak out

II
We both know this has been coming for a long time.

III
I’ve been staying awake at night, wondering if I should tell you.

IV
I bought the kind of crackers you can eat, they are in the hall cupboard.

V
Now that we have watched all the episodes of True Blood, I do not know what else to do next.

VI
I always imagined this would happen without warning and like suddenly on an ocean cliff side
But this is the kind of thing where waiting for the time to be right, would just mean waiting forever.

VII
I’ve just been too afraid for too long.

VIII
I came home on Tuesday and found all of the chairs that I owned stacked in a tower in the center of my kitchen.
I don’t know how long they have been like that,
but it can only be me that did it.
It’s the kind of thing a ghost might do to prove to the living that he is still there.
I am haunting my own apartment.

VIIII
My grandmother was still alive when I was five years old and she asked me to check and see
if the iron was hot enough yet. So I pressed my hand against it and it was red
and screaming for hours.
Twenty-five years later she would still sometimes
apologize, in the middle of conversations,
“I feel so bad about making you touch the iron” she’d say, as though it had just happened.
I cannot imagine how we forgive ourselves for all the things we didn’t say until it was too late.
But how else do you tell if something is hot but to touch it?

X
I keep imagining my furniture in your
apartment.

XI
I wonder how many likes this will get on Facebook.

XII
My dad always used to tell the same joke, but I can’t remember the punchline.

XIII
I was eight years old and it took three weeks, three eight-year-old weeks, imagine! To gather
everything that I would need to be Batman.
Rope.
Boomerangs.
A Mardi Gras mask with the beads cut off.
I couldn’t find a cave near my house,
so I buried them all in a bundle under the ivy.
For years after, I tried to find that spot again.
The ivy grew too fast.
I searched in so many spots it seemed impossible that I had missed one, but I never found it.
How can something be there and then not be there?
How do we forgive ourselves for all the things we did not become?

XIV
I never had the courage to buy bright green sheets.
I wanted them but thought they were too brash, even with no one but me to see them.
I bought a set yesterday and put them on the bed.
I knew that you would like them.

Transcribed from the video 14 Lines From Love Letters Or Suicide Notes by Button Poetry and Doc Luben.

Watch Doc Luben perform “14 Lines From Love Letters Or Suicide Notes” at the 2014 Individual World Poetry Slam in Phoenix, AZ

About the poet Doc Luben

Doc Luben’s poem “14 Lines from Love Letters or Suicide Notes” is a poignant exploration of the blurred lines between affection and despair, capturing the complexities of human emotion in a series of evocative statements. Each line stands alone yet contributes to a cohesive narrative that delves into themes of love, loss, mental health, and self-reflection.

Summary of “14 Lines From Love Letters Or Suicide Notes”

The poem is structured as fourteen standalone lines, each resembling a sentence that could be found in either a love letter or a suicide note. This duality creates a powerful tension, as readers are invited to interpret each line through the lens of both deep affection and profound despair.

Some lines convey mundane details, such as, “I bought the kind of crackers you like. They are in the hall cupboard,” while others delve into more introspective territory, like, “I cannot imagine how we forgive ourselves for all of the things we didn’t say until it was too late.” This juxtaposition highlights the coexistence of everyday life and inner turmoil.

Analysis: Navigating the Intersection of Love and Despair

Luben’s poem masterfully captures the ambiguity and complexity of human emotions. By presenting lines that could belong to either a love letter or a suicide note, he underscores how expressions of love and cries for help can often be indistinguishable.

The poem also touches on the theme of memory and the passage of time. Lines referencing childhood experiences and forgotten jokes suggest a longing for connection and understanding. The final line, “I bought a set yesterday and put them on the bed. I knew that you would like them,” implies a gesture of love that may also be a farewell.

Overall, “14 Lines From Love Letters Or Suicide Notes” challenges readers to consider the nuances of communication and the importance of empathy, especially in recognizing the signs of mental health struggles.

Discover More About Doc Luben

Doc Luben is a renowned poet and performer known for his emotionally charged and thought-provoking work. His poetry often explores themes of love, identity, and mental health, resonating with audiences across the country. To learn more about Doc Luben’s life, career, and contributions to the world of poetry, visit his poet bio page on AZPoetry.com.

Doc Luben

April 24, 2025

Doc Luben: A Powerhouse of Performance Poetry in Arizona and Beyond

Doc Luben is a dynamic voice in American performance poetry—a writer, educator, stage actor, and slam champion whose impact spans from the comic book conventions of Phoenix to the literary circles of Portland and Tucson. Known for his emotionally charged storytelling, razor-sharp wit, and captivating stage presence, Doc is a two-time Poetry Slam Champion of Portland, Oregon and a finalist at the 2013 Individual World Poetry Slam. In Arizona, he claimed the title of Tucson Poetry Slam Champion in 2009 and has continued to inspire new generations of poets across the Southwest.

Whether he’s headlining comic conventions, teaching workshops in schools, or weaving narratives that balance heartbreak with humor, Doc Luben’s work proves that poetry is not just alive—it’s electric.

CalArts to Comic Cons: An Artist with Nerd Credentials

Doc Luben studied at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), a progressive, interdisciplinary institution known for producing some of the most adventurous artists of our time. There, he honed his ability to blur the lines between spoken word, theater, and literature—developing a distinct style equal parts literary and pop culture-savvy.

A longtime fixture at geek gatherings like Phoenix ComicCon and Rose City ComicCon, Doc is no stranger to the intersection of art and fandom. As a panelist and performer at the 2010 Phoenix ComicCon Nerd Slam, he proved that poetry could coexist with cosplay, and that the language of the heart speaks fluently in comic book references.

Doc Luben in Arizona: A Voice for the Desert’s Dreamers

Though his performances have earned him acclaim nationwide, Doc has deep ties to Arizona’s poetry community. His work in Tucson’s vibrant slam scene earned him the 2009 championship, and his involvement with the Arizona Classical Theater introduced audiences to a playwright equally adept at verse and dramatic form. As a teaching artist, he has facilitated countless youth workshops across the state, using poetry as a vehicle for empowerment, resistance, and self-discovery.

Doc has been a featured performer at nearly every major poetry venue in Arizona—including Lawn Gnome Publishing in downtown Phoenix, where he has headlined many times, bringing his signature mix of vulnerable truth-telling and theatrical flair.

What Makes Doc Luben’s Poetry Unique?

Doc’s work is a masterclass in the art of confession without self-pity. His poems often walk a tightrope between the tragic and the comic, confronting trauma, masculinity, queerness, addiction, heartbreak, and mental health with a voice that is at once devastatingly honest and refreshingly irreverent.

His performances are built like one-act plays, drawing audiences into worlds where vulnerability is weaponized and laughter is a survival tactic. Whether telling the story of a failed relationship with the fervor of a tent preacher or exploring personal grief with subtle surrealism, Doc never flinches—and neither does his audience.

Teaching the Next Generation: Subversive Workshops and Youth Outreach

For more than 20 years, Doc Luben has worked with young people in classrooms, after-school programs, and poetry slams to build confidence, encourage storytelling, and teach the mechanics of great writing. His workshops are known for being radically inclusive, emotionally safe, and artistically daring.

His teaching method, like his poetry, doesn’t talk down to students. Instead, it invites them to speak up—loudly, fearlessly, and with the full range of their lived experience.

Digital Presence and Legacy Work

Though known primarily for his stage work, Doc Luben also maintains a digital presence through platforms like Tumblr, where fans can engage with his written work and stay up to date on live performances. His blog, doclubenpoetry.tumblr.com, is a trove of archived poems, thoughts on writing, and updates from the road.

As the national poetry scene evolves, Doc remains a beacon of what’s possible when spoken word poetry is fused with theatrical storytelling, literary precision, and social commentary.

Influence and Collaborations

Doc’s influence extends far beyond his own body of work. He has mentored dozens of young poets who have gone on to become champions in their own right, and has collaborated with visual artists, filmmakers, musicians, and playwrights across the country. His poetry has been featured at slams, literary festivals, and fringe theaters, as well as incorporated into interdisciplinary performances that combine lighting design, soundscapes, and live performance.

Signature Poems and Performances

Among the most iconic pieces in Doc’s arsenal are poems that blend personal narrative with biting cultural critique. Many of these works have been performed to standing ovations in national competitions, featured on slam poetry YouTube channels, and taught in college-level literature and performance studies classes.

Some recurring themes in his work include:

The conflict between performance and authenticity
Grief and the lingering ghosts of childhood trauma
Queer identity and the politics of masculinity
Escapism through pop culture and fandom
The failures and small redemptions of everyday love

Doc Luben and the Legacy of Slam Poetry

Doc Luben emerged during the golden era of slam, alongside poets like Anis Mojgani, Rachel McKibbens, and Mighty Mike McGee. His work captures the spirit of that movement—part confessional, part theatrical, wholly raw—and continues to evolve with today’s changing poetry landscape.

He’s also part of the living history of slam’s influence in the Southwest. Like The Klute, Myrlin Hepworth, and Tomas Stanton, Doc has helped shape Arizona’s performance poetry community into one that prizes emotional intelligence, intersectionality, and stagecraft.

Doc Luben in His Own Words

As Doc once famously declared onstage:

“We are all soft parts and lightning bolts.”

That poetic duality—the tender vulnerability and the sudden, crackling insight—is at the heart of everything he writes and performs.

Where to See Doc Luben Next

Though he’s no longer competing on the slam circuit, Doc continues to perform at select venues and teach workshops across Arizona and beyond. Follow his poetry and updates on his Tumblr blog, and check AZPoetry.com’s events calendar to see when he’ll next hit the mic.

Final Thoughts: The Poet as Survivor

At his core, Doc Luben is a survivor—of trauma, addiction, heartbreak, and all the other broken things that make a poet a poet. His work is a blueprint for finding humor in the pain, power in the vulnerability, and art in the aftermath.

For audiences across the country—and especially for Arizona’s poetic landscape—Doc Luben is a legend, a mentor, and a reminder that even the darkest story deserves to be told.

Ofelia Zepeda

April 15, 2025

Tohono O’odham Poet, Linguist, and Cultural Preservationist

Rooted in the Sonoran Desert and Tohono O’odham Heritage

Ofelia Zepeda is one of Arizona’s most important literary voices and a nationally recognized poet and linguist. A member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, Zepeda was born and raised in Stanfield, Arizona—a community nestled in the Sonoran Desert. Her poetry is shaped by the rhythms of desert life and the enduring cultural practices of her people. Zepeda’s work captures the delicate balance between language, land, and legacy, while illuminating the experiences of contemporary Indigenous life in Southern Arizona.

Academic Achievements and Linguistic Legacy

Zepeda earned her BA, MA, and PhD in linguistics from the University of Arizona, where she has become a vital figure in Indigenous language preservation. She is the author of A Papago Grammar (1983), one of the first comprehensive grammars of the Tohono O’odham language (formerly known as Papago). Her academic work goes hand-in-hand with her poetic voice, serving as a powerful tool to sustain and celebrate the O’odham language.

As a longtime professor at the University of Arizona, Zepeda has directed the American Indian Studies Program and currently leads the American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI), which provides training and support to Native communities working to revitalize their languages. She also serves as the editor of Sun Tracks, a groundbreaking literary series at the University of Arizona Press devoted to publishing Native American writers and artists.

Poetry Grounded in Language and Land

Ofelia Zepeda is the author of two celebrated collections of poetry: Ocean Power: Poems from the Desert (1995) and Jewed’I-hoi / Earth Movements: O’odham Poems (1996). These collections weave together the cultural and linguistic threads of the Tohono O’odham people, offering bilingual poems that honor traditional songs, sacred spaces, and the natural world. Zepeda’s work often features “code-switching” between English and O’odham, creating a layered, living representation of her heritage.

Her poetry is deeply sensory—filled with desert imagery, familial memory, and cultural ceremony. As reviewer Dennis Holt wrote in Drunken Boat, Zepeda’s writing represents a “cultural mélange,” where language and landscape move in harmony. Whether writing about sacred spaces or everyday observations, Zepeda captures the spiritual power and complexity of Indigenous desert life.

National Recognition and the MacArthur Fellowship

In 1999, Ofelia Zepeda was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship—also known as the “Genius Grant”—for her groundbreaking work as a poet, educator, and language activist. She has also received funding from the Endangered Language Fund to support the Tohono O’odham Dictionary Project and other language revitalization efforts.

Zepeda’s contributions have had a lasting impact not only in Arizona, but across the country. She has become a beacon of Indigenous representation in American letters and a role model for Native writers and linguists alike.

Advocate, Educator, and Keeper of Words

Beyond her poetry, Zepeda is a tireless advocate for Indigenous education and community empowerment. Through her work at AILDI and the Sun Tracks series, she has mentored countless Native writers and helped bring Indigenous stories into classrooms and libraries throughout Arizona and beyond.

Her poetry and scholarship have been featured in literary journals, anthologies, and educational curricula, and she continues to write and speak at conferences and events across the country. Her ability to bridge academia and artistry makes her one of Arizona’s most enduring cultural figures.

Ofelia Zepeda’s Legacy in Arizona Poetry

Ofelia Zepeda’s life work is a testament to the transformative power of poetry, language, and cultural memory. From her roots in Stanfield to her leadership at the University of Arizona, Zepeda has carried the voice of her people into the wider world. Her poetry offers a deeply spiritual and intellectual journey through the Sonoran Desert and the living language of the Tohono O’odham Nation.

Get Back by Paul McCartney

April 3, 2025

“Get Back” by Paul McCartney

Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner
But he knew it couldn’t last
Jojo left his home in Tucson, Arizona
For some California grass

Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back Jojo

Go home

Get back, get back
Back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Back to where you once belonged, yeah
Oh, get back, Jo

Sweet Loretta Martin thought she was a woman
But she was another man
All the girls around her say she’s got it coming
But she gets it while she can

Oh, get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back Loretta, woo, woo

Go home

Oh, get back, yeah, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Yeah, get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged

Ooh
Ooh, ooh
Get back, Loretta
Your mommy’s waitin’ for you
Wearin’ her high-heel shoes
And a low-neck sweater
Get back home, Loretta

Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Oh, get back, get back
Get back, oh yeah

Listen to “Get Back” by The Beatles on Spotify

About the poet Paul McCartney

At first listen, “Get Back” seems like a catchy, rollicking tune about two characters—Jojo and Loretta—both of whom find themselves out of place and in need of a return to their roots. But beneath its bluesy guitar riffs and laid-back energy lies a song with deeper cultural and lyrical resonance, not to mention a surprising connection to the Arizona desert.

A Story of Displacement and Return

The lyrics open with Jojo, “a man who thought he was a loner,” who leaves his home in Tucson, Arizona in search of “some California grass.” The reference to Tucson is not incidental; it offers a starting point that’s grounded, familiar, and earthy, in contrast to the vaguer, more dreamlike California destination. The phrase “California grass” may be interpreted as either literal pasture or a thinly veiled reference to the 1960s counterculture and its association with marijuana and idealism. Jojo’s journey to California—and the subsequent chorus urging him to “Get back to where you once belonged”—seems to caution against losing oneself in the pursuit of something that may be more illusion than reality.

The second verse introduces Loretta Martin, who bends gender norms and challenges societal expectations. Her presence is rebellious and provocative, and she too is told to “get back.” In both verses, the refrain functions like a grounding mantra, reminding each character—and perhaps the listener—to return to what is real, authentic, and rooted in identity.

Satire, Rebellion, and Social Commentary

The Beatles were known for embedding humor and social critique in their lyrics, and “Get Back” is no exception. While it began as a satirical commentary on anti-immigrant sentiment in the UK, it evolved into a more playful and universal story of people who lose their way—or who are seen as out of place—being encouraged to return home. That invitation to “get back” could be heard as both nostalgic and ironic, depending on the listener’s perspective.

Paul McCartney’s casual vocal delivery and the band’s jam-like energy lend the song a sense of spontaneity and familiarity. It feels less like a polished studio track and more like a snapshot of a moment in time—fitting, since it was famously captured during The Beatles’ final rooftop concert in 1969.

Tucson’s Place in Beatles Lore

For fans in Arizona, Jojo’s roots in Tucson offer a special link to Beatles history. The lyric gives Tucson a place in the band’s legacy and hints at a real-life connection that goes far deeper. Paul McCartney later made Tucson a second home, purchasing a 150-acre ranch there in 1979 with his wife Linda. The couple shared many years in the Sonoran Desert, and Linda ultimately passed away at the Tucson ranch in 1998. Her ashes were scattered on the property, binding the McCartney family forever to Arizona soil.

So when Paul sings of Jojo leaving Tucson in “Get Back,” it’s easy to imagine his own emotional journey—a man forever navigating between the global spotlight and the grounded quietude of his desert home.

Want to explore more about Paul McCartney’s surprising and deeply personal ties to Arizona?
👉 Visit his poet bio page on AZPoetry.com to discover the full story behind one of the world’s most celebrated musicians and his meaningful connection to the Grand Canyon State.

Valerie Martínez

April 2, 2025

Valerie Martínez: Poet, Educator, and Advocate for Art, History, and Healing

Valerie Martínez is a celebrated American poet, writer, educator, translator, and arts administrator whose work transcends the boundaries of genre and discipline. Born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Martínez’s poetry is deeply rooted in the cultural, historical, and ecological landscape of the American Southwest. A descendant of both Spanish colonizers and Indigenous peoples, she brings a rich ancestral perspective to her writing—an intersection of memory, identity, and place.

From Santa Fe to the World: Life, Education, and Travel

Valerie Martínez left Santa Fe in 1979 to attend Vassar College, earning her A.B. in English and American Literature. She later pursued an MFA in Creative Writing/Poetry at the University of Arizona. Her life and poetry have been shaped by extensive travels across the United States and around the globe—including long stays in Swaziland (now Eswatini), Israel, Japan, South Africa, and Latin America.

Martínez’s time abroad, especially her years teaching English in Southern Africa, gave her a broad cultural perspective that informs the themes of empathy, environmental stewardship, and social justice that permeate her work.

A Distinguished Career in Education and Literary Arts

Before returning to New Mexico permanently in 2003, Martínez served as a college professor for more than 23 years, teaching courses in poetry, American literature, women’s literature, Latino/a literature, and Native American literature. From 2018 to 2021, she served as Director of History and Literary Arts at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

Her dedication to the intersection of art and community also led her to co-found Littleglobe, Inc., and later, the nonprofit arts and social change organization Artful Life. Most recently, she led the groundbreaking CHART project (Culture, History, Art, Reconciliation, and Truth), facilitating a year-long community engagement process addressing the complex cultural history of Santa Fe through inclusive storytelling and healing.

A Legacy of Poetry That Speaks to the World

Valerie Martínez is the author of six poetry collections, two chapbooks, and a book of translations. Her groundbreaking poetry blends lyricism with political and ecological awareness, giving voice to the voiceless and illuminating histories too often overlooked.

Notable Poetry Collections:

Count (University of Arizona Press, 2021)
A hybrid book-length poem that examines climate change through myth, personal memory, environmental data, and global storytelling. Count was adapted into a choral composition titled As the Waters Began to Rise by composer Peter Gilbert.
Each and Her (University of Arizona Press, 2010)
A powerful meditation on femicide and violence against women, particularly the murdered and disappeared women of Juárez, Mexico. The book was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and received the 2011 Arizona Book Award.
Absence, Luminescent (Four Way Books, 1999; reissued 2010)
Her debut collection, which won the Larry Levis Prize and a Greenwall Grant from the Academy of American Poets. Jean Valentine praised it as “expansive, surprising, intelligent… filled with compassion.”
World to World (University of Arizona Press, 2004)
A collection that continues Martínez’s exploration of identity, ancestry, and spiritual inheritance.
And They Called it Horizon (Sunstone Press, 2010)
Written during her tenure as Poet Laureate of Santa Fe, this collection reflects her deep connection to place and community.

Publications, Honors, and Influence

Martínez’s poetry has been widely published in esteemed literary journals such as Poetry, American Poetry Review, AGNI, The Colorado Review, and Mandorla. Her work also appears in more than 30 anthologies including The Best American Poetry.

A frequent guest speaker and reader at national literary festivals and universities, Martínez continues to inspire a new generation of poets with her genre-blending work and community-focused approach to art.

Her poem “Bowl” was featured in the PBS/Poetry Foundation “Poetry Everywhere” series and was also set to music by composer Glen Roven and performed by soprano Talise Trevigne. Another poem, “September, 2001,” was featured in The Washington Post‘s “Poet’s Choice” column.

Poetry as Artful Action

What sets Valerie Martínez apart is her unwavering belief in the power of poetry as a tool for transformation—not just personal, but communal and ecological. Her work invites readers to bear witness, to reflect, and to act.

Whether she’s writing about climate change, cultural memory, femicide, or the beauty of New Mexico’s landscape, her poems ask us to reconsider the stories we tell and the silences we keep.

“Chircahuas Sold A Barrel at the Gates” by Logan Phillips

December 17, 2024

Chircahuas Sold A Barrel at the Gates

Presidio of Tucson, May 1856

Late sun; sweat
pulled from the pores
by the giant sweat-eating sky.
Slowly drying up
there, spirits and steel.

Under suicide glide of sun, fifty nearly dead
drunk on periphery of presidio. Whiskey
in wounded wood, barrel from back
where whiskey is born, brought on
wagon train to the edge, to the adobe
fortress under changing flags.
Dark liquor & dark lips.

Leather is a type of skin.
Barrel tastes like gunmetal,
like the fingers near the lips.

Sun-hot, glass made with lead,
oil dancing on the outskirts of water

Whiskey, well-sat in sun, burning
the gut, held in its skeleton racks;
the barrel bound in its metal straps.

Camped there along the Santa Cruz,
the Chiricahuas are sold a barrel, sold

a slow powder keg,
a weapon to dull the stories.

Alcohol—a way of negotiating,
sign language of fist and grimace.

Alcohol held in the gut
as the horizon grows dim.

About the poet Logan Phillips

Logan Phillips’ poem “Chiricahuas Sold A Barrel at the Gates” vividly portrays a haunting historical moment on the harsh, sun-scorched frontier. Through rich, sensory imagery, Phillips captures the intersection of cultures, where whiskey becomes both a weapon and a bitter form of negotiation. The poem reflects on themes of colonialism, exploitation, and the human cost of survival under unrelenting desert skies.

To explore more about Logan Phillips, his bilingual work, and his contributions to poetry and performance art, visit his bio page on AZpoetry.com.

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