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An Evening with Julie Swarstad Johnson
Poetry Workshop, Book Reading, & Open Mic
Fri, Apr 25 2024 3 - 7 pm
Verde Valley Campus
©Photo by Patri Hadad
The Literary Southwest will host a Poetry Workshop, Book Reading, & Open Mic with Julie Swarstad Johnson.
Join us for a writing workshop and poetry reading focused on the night sky, astronomy, and how understanding our vast universe can lead us towards greater care for life on Earth.
3:00 PM - Workshop
4:30 PM - Reading and Discussion
6:00 PM - Open Mic
7:00 PM - Book Signing
About the Author
Julie Swarstad Johnson is the author of Pennsylvania Furnace (2019), editor's choice selection for the Unicorn Press first book series, and co-editor of Beyond Earth's Edge: The Poetry of Spaceflight (University of Arizona Press, 2020). She has served as Poet in Residence at Lowell Observatory and at Gettysburg National Military Park, which led to the chapbook Orchard Light (Seven Kitchens Press, 2020). In March 2024, she was part of Imagination 1, a simulated lunar mission with an all-artist crew. She lives in Tucson and works as an archivist and librarian at the University of Arizona Poetry Center.
About the Book
Beyond Earth’s Edge: The Poetry of Spaceflight is a trailblazing anthology of poetry that spans from the dawn of the space age to the imagined futures of the universe. The anthology offers a fascinating record of both national mindsets and private perspectives as poets grapple with the promise and peril of U.S. space exploration across decades and into the present. Tracing an arc of literary skepticism during the Apollo era and before to a more curious, and even hopeful, stance today, Beyond Earth’s Edge includes diverse perspectives from poets such as Robert Hayden, Rae Armantrout, N. Scott Momaday, Adrienne Rich, Tracy K. Smith, Ray Bradbury, May Swenson, Pablo Neruda, and many other engaging poetic voices.
Beyond Earth’s Edge vividly captures the violence of blastoff, the wonders seen by Hubble, and the trajectories of exploration to Mars and beyond through a wide array of lyric celebrations, somber meditations, accessible narratives, concrete poems, and new forms of science fiction. With the dawn of the New Space movement, continued interest in Mars, and renewed excitement about returning to the Moon, Beyond Earth’s Edge is a giant leap toward bridging poetry and science.
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Yavapai College Library presents The Literary Southwest is made possible by Yavapai College and the Yavapai College Foundation.
Literary Southwest Team
Lynn Durkee
Literary Southwest Program Director
James Rider
Technical Director