Tuesdays, July 9, 16, and 23, 2024, 5:00PM-7:00PM

Meetings will take place in the Poetry Center's Alumni Room, Room 205; limit 12 students. SOLD OUT. 

English author Jane Austen once wrote “[People] themselves alter so much, that there is something new to be observed in them forever.” The same can be said of a neighborhood setting. As we continue to emerge from a pandemic that had us sheltering in place, many of us have become appreciative of our home in Tucson. Whether you live in Barrio Hollywood, Cat Foothills, Pascua Yaqui Village, South Tucson or Thunderbird Heights, Tucson and its neighborhoods are ever evolving and thus, rich sources for writing.

In this 3-week class we’ll pay close attention to Tucson, it’s sounds, sights, tastes, textures, and scents. We will bring our current and past neighborhoods to life through a combination of generative writing prompts, readings and discussion. We’ll capture memories connecting us to the Old Pueblo and translate these experiences through poetry, nonfiction, and fiction. Readings will include work by writers who have written about Tucson and its environs such as poets Ofelia Zepeda and Margaree Little. Nonfiction examples will include excerpts by Francisco Cantú, Lydia Otero, and Linda Ronstadt (yes, that Linda Ronstadt). Fiction will be sourced from Chicano pioneer Mario Suarez, Mark Jude Poirier and Stacey Richter. Our first day will include going beyond the classroom space, and touring Tucson through short walks in and around our creative neighborhood, the Poetry Center. When we’re not touring, we’ll read a variety of texts including literature, movie clips and music related to the Old Pueblo to engage our senses. In this multi-genre course, students will focus on starting and finishing a first draft of a creative piece including each week: a poem, an essay, and a flash fiction piece. Students will choose one of these drafts to polish in a final revision. We’ll share our versions of Tucson with each other and in the process learn what the Pueblo Viejo means to each of us.