Welcome to the Summer 2026 programs at the University of Arizona Poetry Center! Note that in addition to the classes, events and programs offered below, the Poetry Center will be closed to the public from Friday, July 3 - Monday, July 21.
SUMMER Classes
We're thrilled to announce an exciting array of classes and workshops this summer—an exciting mix of writing-intensive generative poetry studios, lively workshops, and rigorous writing seminars. Writers of all levels are invited to join. Financial aid is available one week prior to general registration and it's a quick and easy process!
Financial aid opens: May 5, 10:00am
General Registration Opens: May 12 at 10:00 am
The Archive as Spark: Writing from Fragments and Traces
with January Gill O’Neil
Wednesday, June 3
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
This generative workshop invites poets and prose writers to use archival thinking as a way into new work. When I say archive, I mean anything that preserves a trace: documents, photographs, lists, news items, family stories, and objects. Through brief readings, discussion, and guided prompts, participants will write from found material and explore how voice, omission, and form can transform what we inherit.
Memories to Hold
with Ames Meeks
Wednesday, June 10 and 17
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Grief and loss are universal human experiences and our most beloved, as well as complicated, relationships are forever changed by death. In this class, we will direct our attention and intention towards finding connection and meaning through physical objects, small acts, symbols, or ritual, which all act as conduits between this realm and the next.
Writing with Trees: Finding Form in a Deforested World
with Gretchen Henderson
Wednesday, July 29
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
From roots to trunks, leaves to cones, trees uphold living libraries across the Earth. Forests communicate underground, grow canopies that shelter biodiverse species, and oxygenate the atmosphere that we breathe. In this writing workshop, we reimagine the presence of wood in our words—poetry, nonfiction, fiction, between & beyond—rooting and branching between lines and sentences, paragraphs and poetics of place, reconnecting heartwood with our own hearts.
Two Lenses, One Place: Ekphrastic Responses to Climate Change
with Hannah Larrabee and Jacinda Russell
Thursday, July 30
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
In this workshop, we’ll explore examples of poetry, essays, and photography that engage with climate change and ecological impact. We encourage attendees to come with a photograph, picture of an artwork, or even an article related to climate change that you’d like to focus on for some generative writing. If you’re a visual artist, please bring a climate/ecological poem you’d like to engage with for concept/planning writing. Whether you are a writer or visual artist, you can expect to leave the class with new draft work and ideas for future projects.
Making Sense: How Poems Think
with July Westhale
Wednesday, August 19
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
How does a poem make sense? Not every poem follows the linear logic of prose—instead, poetry often moves by emotional logic, associative leaps, and intuitive connections that feel right even when they don't "make sense" on paper. In this generative workshop, we'll explore how successful poems balance literal coherence with emotional truth, examining works that make audacious logical leaps while still feeling grounded and earned. Writers at all levels are welcome; come ready to read, write, and rethink what it means for a poem to "make sense."
2026 Summer Residency Reading: January Gill O’Neil
Thursday, June 4, 2026 - 7:00pm
January Gill O’Neil is a professor at Salem State University and the author of Glitter Road (2024), Rewilding (2018), Misery Islands (2014), and Underlife (2009), all published by CavanKerry Press. Glitter Road received the 2024 Poetry by the Sea Best Book Award and the Julia Ward Howe Prize and was a finalist for several honors, including the Massachusetts Book Award. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Poetry, The Nation, and American Poetry Review. A Cave Canem fellow, she served as executive director of the Massachusetts Poetry Festival from 2012 to 2018 and was the 2019–2020 John and Renée Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi. She is a former chair of the AWP Board of Directors and its longest-serving current board member, and she teaches graduate poetry writing in the summer program at Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English.
summer socials
Summer Socials take place in the Century Room at Hotel Congress and are designed as interesting happy hour experiences. Each event will feature complimentary snacks and a cash bar.
Monsoon-themed Open Mic
Sunday, June 28th, 4:00 PM-6:00 PM
In partnership with Sky Island Alliance, join us for a Summer Social at Hotel Congress’ Century Room to celebrate and call in the 2026 Monsoon Season in Southern Arizona. Participants can share their own work, or a rain-themed poem that they love. Help us augur a good monsoon season with poetry!
Jacinda Russell and Hannah Larrabee on Art, Poetry, and Language Erratics
Sunday, August 2nd, 4:00 PM-6:00 PM
Join us for a conversation with conceptual artist Jacinda Russell and poet Hannah Larrabee as they highlight their current exhibition at the Poetry Center. In Language Erratics, Russell and Larrabee collaborate on a series of ekphrastic responses capturing their experiences of The Arctic Circle Residency in the Svalbard Archipelago.
sealey Challenge Book Swap
The Sealey Challenge is to read a book of poetry each day during the month of August. While the books you choose are up to you, The Sealey Challenge encourages reading books by a diverse range of poets. Learn more about the Sealey Challenge.
Sealey Challenge Poetry Book Swap
Thursday, August 13th, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM
This event takes place at Bar Crisol.
Help celebrate the halfway point of the Sealey Challenge! Join us for an informal poetry book swap at Bar Crisol. Bring books you no longer want and pick up some new reading to keep your Sealey Challenge going or just keep you reading through the summer.