Native Americans of the Southwestern region have carried a long literary tradition into the 21st century in the form of storytelling and song. Along with its Native American literature, Arizona's larger cities and its major universities have continued to foster a literary community that has contributed to the state's cultural heritage. Book buffs and literature aficionados will find that the state hosts a number of literary events, and is home to many large libraries and book stores of all sizes.
Literary Events
One of the biggest literary events in Arizona is the Northern Arizona Book Festival, which takes place each April in downtown Flagstaff. The event features readings, panel discussions, and workshops led by a variety of poets, novelists, and non-fiction writers from around the country. Native American literature is also featured at the festival, partially because of Flagstaff's close proximity to major Native American reservations.
Also held in April, the annual Arizona Book Festival is presented by the Arizona Humanities Council. The festival is held in downtown Phoenix, and features talks and presentations with regional and national writers from various genres including non-fiction, science-fiction, poetry, children's literature, and western fiction. With over 100 writers and a variety of literary presentations by graduate students from the Arizona State University, the festival is one of the largest literary events in the state. For a fun and educational diversion, the festival also holds a Define-A-Thon, an original event -- similar to a spelling bee -- in which contenders test their knowledge of words.
Poetry
The University of Arizona has been recognized as one of the top colleges in the country for literature, particularly poetry. The University's main campus, in Tucson, is a hot-spot for literary readings, activities, and events. The University of Arizona Poetry Center Reading Series, which takes place in the Helen S. Schaefer Building, hosts readings by contemporary poets from around the country. A listing of upcoming readings is available on the Poetry Center's Web site.
The Poetry Center also sponsors the Native Voices Symposium, an event that celebrates Native American literature and language, particularly endangered indigenous languages. With readings, talks, lectures, and discussions about Native American poetry, storytelling, and publishing, the event seeks to advance Native American literature. The event takes place each June on the University of Arizona campus.
The Center also has a library which houses one of the nation's largest collections of poetry from the last century, as well as from earlier periods. The library is open to the public and is non-circulating. All genres and movements of contemporary poetry are represented, and there is also a large collection of criticism, biographies, poetry-related journals, periodicals, broadsides, and recordings available. For literary buffs visiting Arizona, the Poetry Center library is a great place to spend an afternoon away from the desert heat.
For something slightly different, the over 20-year old annual Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering is hosted by the Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott. The mid-August event is a great place to get acquainted with this very distinctive brand of Western-American verse. The event hosts many of the nation's most well-known cowboy poets, along with supplementary readings, book sales, and events.
Another event hosted by the Sharlot Hall Museum is the annual Prescott Book Festival. The festival features "living history" volunteers portraying Arizona pioneer life, along with vendors selling used, new, and rare books from the southwestern region and elsewhere. Each year, the event headlinees a nationally-known writer, and visiting either this event or the Cowboy Poets Gathering affords attendees an opportunity to explore the Sharlot Hall Museum, which holds fascinating exhibits relating to Arizona history and culture.
Arizona is also home to a variety of bookstores. Major cities like Phoenix and Tucson have the usual large chain bookstores, but it's also possible for visitors to find smaller, independent bookstores throughout the state. The Phoenix area has two unique niche bookstores. Guidon Books, on Scottsdale's Main Street, focuses on both new and out-of-print Western Americana and Civil War literature. This is a great place to locate hard-to-find books. Poisoned Pen Central, in downtown Phoenix, specializes in mystery novels, but has been gradually expanding its business to include works in all literary genres.
Thanks to the state's university literary communities, as well as its numerous literary events and bookstores, Arizona is likely only to grow as a major state for American and Southwestern literature. Wherever one's literary interests lean, Arizona is sure to provide a wealth of reading experiences and inspiration for writers.
