Established in 1962, the University of Arizona Poetry Center Reading & Lecture Series presents readings by nationally known poets including Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winners, Arizona poets, lectures on poetry and literature, interdisciplinary performances, and outreach events at which writers of all ages share their creative work and are celebrated for their achievements. Our annual Morgan Lucas Schuldt Memorial Reading features emerging and innovative writers. The annual Hannelore Quander-Rattee Works-in-Translation Reading presents translators of poetry and international poets. The annual Tom Sanders Memorial Reading features writers who are of importance to the University of Arizona. UA Prose Series readings, curated by the University of Arizona Creative Writing faculty and featuring writers of fiction and nonfiction, are also presented as part of the Poetry Center’s Reading & Lecture Series.

We have also presented signature conferences and symposia as part of the Reading & Lecture Series. Most recently, this has included two themed mini series – in February 2016 we presented Spectacle + Poetry, and in the 2016-17 season we presented Climate Change + Poetics – and the Thinking Its Presence conference, which was held at the Poetry Center in October 2017. 

In 1963, the Poetry Center began recording readings presented under the auspices of the Series. We have now archived over fifty years of readings of by poets and writers. These recordings are available to all through voca, our online audiovisual library.

For upcoming readings, please click through for our calendar. We hope to see you here soon!