We’re excited to share a collaboration between the Poetry Center and AZ Illustrated: seven video poems in the spirit of imagining a different world. Please enjoy the first four installations below.
Richard Siken - “The Way the Light Reflects”
watch on youtube
Richard Siken, a finalist for the 2025 year’s National Book Awards, reads “The Way the Light Reflects.” You can also hear a Voca recording of this poem from Siken's visit to the Poetry Center in 2015.
Claire Hong - “Landlines"
A visual representation of poet Claire Hong’s piece “Landlines,” which takes us on a visual journey through color, family, and the natural and cosmic world that bridges the past, present, and future.
Estella González - "Everybody Dance"
Estella González’s poem "Everybody Dance" is a fever dream of freedom—where disco isn't just music, but revolution in a sequin suit. It spins a glittering vision of a world where patriarchy crumbles under the weight of bass lines and ancestral healing, where daughters of diaspora dance unafraid through night streets, books in hand and beats in their ears.
Marc David Pinate - “How Do I Explain?”
Marc David Pinate's poem “How Do I Explain?” dives into the astounding beauty of the everyday—how difficult it is to encapsulate what rouses in words, that to be alive is a tactile and individual experience. The poem concludes that "Knowing cannot be told. Knowledge cannot be taught. Rather, it surges like an ocean. And you don't just hear it. It splashes in your chest."