When he graduated from the University of Oregon with a journalism degree in 1986, Chuck Palahniuk probably didn’t think he would go on to be a bestselling author and one of the most popular novelists for a generation that isn’t exactly known for its love of books. And when Palahniuk,…
This year’s Individual World Poetry Slam, sponsored by the Arizona Humanities Council, was thought-provoking to say the least. The event lasted four days at multiple local venues, and led up to a final bout at Marquee Theatre on Saturday, October 11. The iWPS finals offered exposure not only to this…
Seventy-two competitive slam poets walk into a coffee shop in Phoenix. This is not a joke. There will be no punchline. The Arizona Humanities Council will play host to the 2014 Individual World Poetry Slam, a four-day event that pits “presentative poets” against one another. The competition itself exists as…
HomeBase Poetry has a new home base. The local organization, which has been hosting poetry open mics on the first Sunday of the month for more than five years, has left the downtown Phoenix Renaissance Hotel and moved north to the Sheraton Crescent off Dunlap Avenue and the Black Canyon…
You wouldn’t expect to find a magical healer, spies, assassins, and a quirky young gremlin in Buckeye, Arizona. But that’s exactly where debut novelist Beth Cato created the fantastical steampunk world of her book, The Clockwork Dagger. In Cato’s take on Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, Octavia Leander,…
If you want to know “How to Write the Great American Indian Novel,” you might want to turn to Sherman Alexie. The award-winning poet, author, and screenwriter best known for his personal portrayal of native American culture in society will be making a visit to Scottsdale Community College on Thursday,…
Phoenix’s own feline designer and cat woman, Kate Benjamin, has created a kitty “cookbook,” as she calls it. This isn’t a book full of recipes for your cat or a feline-themed cookbook. Instead Benjamin and Animal Planet’s Jackson Galaxy have created Catification, a photo-centric guide, which actually does resemble a…
Daniel Levitin was in his 30s when he went back to college and got a degree in cognitive psychology, launching the career that has made him a best-selling author. His first book, This Is Your Brain on Music: Understanding a Human Obsession (2006), spent more than a year on The…
Looks like your summer reading list is about to get a little longer. On Saturday, August 16, Phoenix Center for the Arts is inviting bookworms and writers to meet and greet more than 30 local authors for the one-day-only Summer Author Event hosted by Write Market Design and the Phoenix…
From an early age, Nicole Zangara knew she wanted to help people. “I was always that girl who was like, ‘let’s talk about our feelings,'” she says. It make sense, then, that she would follow in her mother’s footsteps, becoming a licensed clinical social worker with a focus in helping…
When most people think of public art, the usual images of street festivals, sculptures, and decorative fountains come to mind. But for the minds behind Four Chambers Press, public art can be so much more. For its latest endeavor, the year-old literary journal continues reaching out into the community with…
Don’t expect to hear a lot of “roses are red, violets are blue” at the Copper State Poetry Slam this weekend. There’s a time and a place for childlike rhyming, but this Southwest slam competition isn’t it. The third annual state poetry championship takes over Phoenix Theatre’s Playhouse on the…
If we take a moment to be honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that we didn’t really read anything in high school. And if you’re anything like us, you probably leaned a little more on SparkNotes and CliffsNotes to get through English class than you’d be proud to admit. Even the…
Arguably when one thinks of art, one thinks of the visual and tangible. Paintings, portraits, photographs, and sculpted pieces dominate both museums and immediate word association. But there is something to be said for the power of another art form, one that comes from a deeply personal space: spoken word…
Elizabeth Maria Naranjo is a petite woman with long, black hair that today she’s pulled back, save for a few wisps that frame her face. She’s personable, but not bubbly, and passionate without being overbearing. She alternates between sips of water and coffee and she is, as she’ll later admit,…
With June more than half over and July just around the corner, it’s high time you finalized your summer reading list. Fortunately for you, local clothing company Miles to Go, which silkscreens imagery from literary classics onto crew neck T-shirts and totes, has a few suggestions. Make that almost 100…
Maya Angelou died at her Winston-Salem, North Carolina, home on Wednesday, May 28. She was 86. Her artistic achievements included working as an actress, dancer, poet, and novelist, while her cultural impact as a creative voice and civil rights activist spanned both the globe and generations. Some of Angelou’s more…
When Bill Carter was living in Bisbee, Arizona, he decided to plant a garden to grow his own veggies. When he got ill from eating the fruits of his labor, Carter did a little investigating and found traces of arsenic in the soil. The arsenic was residue from a century…
Young-adult books have gotten a bad rap, if you ask us. Yes, sometimes YA fiction lives up to all of its negative stereotypes with angsty teenagers trying to figure out what makes them special, dejected kids trying to find their place in the world, and star-crossed, mildly masochistic lovers (ahem,…
Lit Lounge presents its second “Most of” edition, a sort-of best of round-up featuring prominent performers of both national recognition and local prowess. The conversation returns to the Virginia G. Piper Theater at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 26. Award-winning author and comedic performer Tania Katan is at the helm…
Local literature lovers are lucky that some excellent public libraries and two of the nation’s best bookstores also call the Valley home. Here’s a look at some upcoming literary events in our area…
Every two years, the ASU English Department takes a day to celebrate Geoffrey Chaucer; the so-called father of English poetry was pivotal in bringing vernacular Middle English into the realm of literature, where French and Latin dominated during the Middle Ages. While his accomplishments might be old news (circa the…
