Welcome back, life. As the pandemic winds down, the Valley's cultural diversions -- festivals, the arts, gyms and tours -- are blossoming anew.
We sat down with self-help poet Morgan Harper Nichols to chat about her recent move to Gilbert and how it influenced her art.
An oversize cactus face mask – a discarded prop from a punk-rock skateboarding video – was the inspiration for Gravity & Spectacle (Tolsun Books, $20), poet Shawnte Orion and photographer Jia Oak Baker’s “love letter to a fireplace.” The fireplace, in this case, is Phoenix, which the collaborators bring to crackling life with Orion’s sardonic yet loving lyricism and Oak Baker’s stunning desert and urban portraiture. So much of this Southwestern snapshot will resonate with...
1. Vinyl Voices at The Coronado – July 25
Storytelling and record playing collide at Vinyl Voices. Speakers include Jeff Cardello, Michelle Edwards, Kim Porter and more. Hosts Jose Gonzalez and Leslie Barton will engage with the speakers to help them open up about their lives and how music guided their self-discovery. Free. 8-10 p.m. 2201 N. 7th St., Phoenix, facebook.com/events.
Originally from Spain, Olvido García Valdés is one of the most renowned poets in the Hispanic literary community. Last October, Phoenix-based Cardboard House Press published the translated version of her book And We Were All Alive/ Y Todos Estabamos Vivos. Local poet and translator Catherine Hammond will be presenting Garcia Valdes's award-winning poetry collection at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe this Friday, January 13 at 7 p.m.