Festival of Books

About the Festival

Tucson Festival of Books 2017
March 11-12, 2017 | 9:30am - 5:30pm
University of Arizona Campus

“When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.”
— Maya Angelou

The Tucson Festival of Books provides a unique opportunity to gather authors and readers for conversations that transcend ink and paper. That is why the UA College of Social and Behavioral Sciences is pleased to partner with the festival. The college’s 300+ faculty publish dozens of books annually to share their work to a broad audience. Our faculty can be found throughout the festival as featured authors and panel moderators. Check the schedules below to find when they will appear in the college's pavilion and in other places throughout the festival.

SBS Sessions

Click on date to reveal schedule

Saturday, March 11

10:00 AM Location - SBS Pavilion	A Conversation on Segregated Spaces UA College of SBS faculty authors Tyina Steptoe from History and Jennifer Roth-Gordon from Anthropology join Jeff Chang and Reginald Dwayne Betts in a conversation exploring the many ways in which racially segregated spaces are constructed through language, law, and culture in the United States and Brazil. Maribel Alvarez from the UA School of Anthropology and Southwest Center, and Executive Director of the Southwest Folklife Alliance, moderates. Related Articles: History Professor Investigates Transitions in Race, Gender, Exploring the "Comfortable Racial Contradictions" in Brazil, SBS Partners with Community Groups for Tucson Festival of Books 2017	Reginald Dwayne Betts Jeff Chang Jennifer Roth-Gordon Tyina Steptoe _______________________ Moderated by: Maribel Alvarez
10:00 AM Location - Koffler Room 204	Exploring the Truth Behind Creativity McArthur Award Winners discuss the creative process. This panel features two SBS Faculty members: Gary Nabhan, W.K. Kellogg Endowed Chair in Sustainable Food Systems at the UA Southwest Center, and Ofelia Zepeda, Regents' Professor of Linguistics and interdisciplinary faculty in the Department of American Indian Studies.	Sandy Lanham Gary Nabhan Larry Robertson Ofelia Zepeda Moderated by: Terri Polan
10:00 AM Location - Student Union Tucson	Page-Turning Tucsonans Tucson's got talent! Three authors with talk about their Old Pueblo ties, Southwest inspirations, having a book on the big stage, and life in the literary fast lane. Julie Iromuanya, Assistant Professor of English in the College of SBS, speaks about her writing and her most recent book, Mr. and Mrs. Doctor.	Mark Beauregard Julie Iromuanya Victor Lodato Moderated by: Karyn Prechtel
11:30 AM Location - SBS Pavilion	Poetry Reading: Juan Felipe Herrera Twenty-first Poet Laureate of the United States, performance artist, activist, and teacher Juan Felipe Herrera has authored more than a dozen collections of poetry and numerous books in varied genres (including short stories and children’s literature) about Mexican American and Indigenous cultures. He reads from four decades of his work on the College of SBS stage. Moderator Farid Matuk is an Assistant Professor of English at UA and an accomplished poet, translator, and essayist.	Juan Felipe Herrera _______________________ Moderated by: Farid Matuk
11:30 AM Location - Integrated Learning Center Room 151	Workshop on Translation UA Adjunct Lecturer in English John Washington shares his expertise in translating books from Spanish to English, including "The History of Violence: Living and Dying in Central America" by Oscar Martinez, co-translated with Daniela Ugaz.	John Washington
1:00 PM Location - SBS Pavilion	Tucson Youth Poetry Slam Tucson Youth Poetry Slam’s young poets will grace the SBS stage, sharing their own electric poems and engaging with the work of Emmy Pérez, winner of a 2017 National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in poetry and author of the recent book, "With the River on Our Face." This event is made possible through the College of SBS’s community partnership with the Tucson Youth Poetry Slam and their coordinator (and moderator of the event), Sarah Gonzales.	Emmy Pérez _______________________ Moderated by: Sarah Gonzales
1:00 PM Location - Integrated Learning Center Room 151	Workshop on the Essay Ander Monson— UA Director of Creative Writing, Professor of English, editor and publisher of the journal DIAGRAM and the New Michigan Press, and the winner of the Graywolf Prize in nonfiction and the Annie Dillard prize in creative nonfiction— joins contributors to “How We Speak to One Another” to explore the essay as a vibrant and multifaceted literary genre, generating new ways to converse through writing. Related Articles: Eight Questions: Ander Monson on the Essay, David Foster Wallace, and Constructing Culture Through Writing	Steven Church Megan Kimble Dave Mondy Aisha Sabatini Sloan Will Slattery Katherine Standefer Nicole Walker _______________________ Moderated by: Ander Monson
2:30 PM Location - SBS Pavilion	Scapegoats: How Islamophobia Helps Our Enemies and Threatens Our Freedoms Global media commentator and human rights attorney Arsalan Iftikhar speaks with Executive Director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse Carolyn Lukensmeyer about his new book, "Scapegoats: How Islamophobia Helps our Enemies and Threatens our Freedoms," addressing hate speech and anti-Muslim rhetoric in American culture and highlighting the continued importance of respect and civility. The National Institute for Civil Discourse is housed within the School of Government and Public Policy in the College of SBS. Related Articles: SBS Partners with Community Groups on Tucson Festival of Books 2017	Arsalan Iftikhar _______________________ Moderated by: Carolyn Lukensmeyer
2:30 PM Location - Integrated Learning Center Room 130	The Mythic West UA Professor of English Jennifer Jenkins joins Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Glenn Frankel and former New York Times writer Tom Clavin to discuss how history becomes part of popular culture through the stories of Dodge City, the wickedest town in the West; the making of the movie classic High Noon; and how Western Ways films helped create the Southwest's regional identity. Related Articles: Digging Up the Celuloid Pueblo and Finding Treasures	Tom Clavin Glenn Frankel Jennifer Jenkins _______________________ Moderated by: Herb Stratford
4:00 PM Location - SBS Pavilion	Conflict and Coexistence: What Animals Can Teach Us About Our Humanity Alison Hawthorne Deming and Steven Church look at human relationships with the natural world, examining the many ways animals in particular both challenge and contribute to our humanity. Deming is a Professor of Creative Writing in the College of SBS, the Agnese Nelms Haury Chair in Environmental and Social Justice, and the winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships in poetry, a Wallace Stegner Fellowship, a Walt Whitman Award, and a Pushcart Prize. Moderator Christopher Cokinos is a UA Professor of English and winner of the Whiting Award and the Glasgow Prize. Related Articles: Alison Deming Celebrates 'the Long Story of Human Life'	Steven Church Alison Hawthorne Deming _______________________ Moderated by: Christopher Cokinos
4:00 PM Location - Student Union Tucson	Immigration Stories Newcomers arrive in the US embracing the ideal of the American Dream, but the reality may not match vision. Three notable authors discuss their characters, each from a different country, and their very different experiences. Julie Iromuanya, Assistant Professor of English in the College of SBS, enriches this panel discussion by speaking about her book, Mr. and Mrs. Doctor.	Peter Ho Davies Julie Iromuanya Maceo Montoya Moderated by: Christine Wald-Hopkins

Sunday, March 12

9:00 AM Location - SBS Pavilion	American Friends Service Committee of Arizona The American Friends Service Committee of Arizona shares its work, which challenges the dominant narrative of crime, punishment, and justice, and reads poems from writers on both sides of the prison walls. This session is made possible by the College of SBS’s community partnership with AFSC.	Moderated by: Grace Gámez, Criminal Justice Program Associate at AFSC Arizona
10:00 AM Location - SBS Pavilion	Poetry and Prison Sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, NAACP Image Award winner and national spokesperson for the Campaign for Youth Justice Reginald Dwayne Betts and UA Professor Emeritus of English Richard Shelton discuss their experiences teaching and learning creative writing in prison, as well as the transformative power of poetry. Related Articles: Expanding the UA Prison Education Project, SBS Partners with Community Groups for Tucson Festival of Books 2017	Reginald Dwayne Betts Richard Shelton _______________________ Moderated by: Ken Lamberton
10:00 AM Location - Student Union, Kiva Room	Poetry Reading: Emmy Pérez and Johanna Skibsrud UA English professor and Giller Prize winner Johanna Skibsrud reads from her latest collection, “The Description of the World,” with 2017 National Endowment for the Arts fellowship winner Emmy Pérez, who reads from "With the River on Our Face.”	Emmy Pérez Johanna Skibsrud _______________________ Moderated by: Kristen Buckles
11:30 AM Location - SBS Pavilion	We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation Jeff Chang – Executive Director of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts, whose work is described as provocative, thought-provoking, troubling, but ultimately hopeful – explores the rise and fall of notions of diversity and the complexity of current race relations in a discussion of his recent book, "We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation." Maribel Alvarez, Executive Director of the Southwest Folklife Alliance, UA Anthropology Professor, and Associate Research Social Scientist at the Southwest Center is the recipient of the Agnese Nelms Haury Fellowship for Environmental and Social Justice. Related Articles: SBS Partners with Community Groups for Tucson Festival of Books 2017	Jeff Chang _______________________ Moderated by: Maribel Alvarez
1:00 PM Location - SBS Pavilion	How We Speak to One Another: Conversations on the Essay Ander Monson— UA Director of Creative Writing, Professor of English, editor and publisher of the journal DIAGRAM and the New Michigan Press, and the winner of the Graywolf Prize in nonfiction and the Annie Dillard prize in creative nonfiction— joins contributors to "How We Speak to One Another" to read from and discuss the essays featured in this volume, giving context to the flexibility and vitality of the essay as a literary form. Related Articles: Eight Questions: Ander Monson on the Essay, David Foster Wallace, and Constructing Culture Through Writing	Steven Church Megan Kimble Aisha Sabatini Sloan Will Slattery Katherine Standefer Nicole Walker _______________________ Moderated by: Ander Monson
2:30 PM Location - SBS Pavilion	On Brainwashing, Automation, and Politics UA Professor of English and winner of the Norman Foerster Prize Scott Selisker joins John Nichols, National Affairs Correspondent at The Nation, to discuss how changes in technology, economics, science, cinema, and literature have shaped our conversations— and our realities— around freedom, democracy, and political choice. The session is moderated by Marv Waterstone, Professor Emeritus of Geography and Development and co-instructor, with Noam Chomsky, of “What is Politics?” Related Articles: Four Questions: Professor's Book Probes Brainwashing, Freedom	John Nichols Scott Selisker _______________________ Moderated by: Marv Waterstone
2:30 PM Location - Student Union, Kiva Room	Poetry Reading: Alison Hawthorne Deming and Dwayne Betts UA Professor of English, Guggenheim Fellow, and Pushcart Prize winner Alison Hawthorne Deming reads from her latest poetry collection, "Stairway to Heaven," with NAACP Image Award winner Reginald Dwayne Betts, who reads from his second book of poetry, “Bastards of the Reagan Era.”	Reginald Dwayne Betts Alison Hawthorne Deming _______________________ Moderated by: Sarah Kortemeier
2:30 PM Location - Integrated Learning Center Room 141	Workshop in 2 Parts - Smiling Brown Project A live act of the play, “Smiling Brown: Gente de Bronce” will be followed by an extended discussion with audience members to elicit personal narratives regarding light-skin preference as a worldwide phenomenon. Roberto Cintli Rodriguez, Associate Professor in the College of SBS Department of Mexican American Studies, will conduct this double-feature workshop from 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.	Roberto Cintli Rodriguez
3:00 PM Location - Science Cafe	Jeremy Vetter on Field Life: Science in the American West During the Railroad Era UA Professor of History Jeremy Vetter appears at the Science Café tent to give an interactive talk and answer questions about both his research and his latest book, "Field Life: Science in the American West During the Railroad Era."	Jeremy Vetter
4:00 PM Location - SBS Pavilion	Migrant Deaths in the Arizona Desert UA Lecturer in Mexican American Studies and head of the Binational Migration Institute Raquel Rubio-Goldsmith and UA Professor Emeritus of Sociology Celestino Fernández, coeditors of the volume "Migrant Deaths in the Arizona Desert: La vida no vale nada," speak with UA Department Head and Professor of Mexican American Studies Anna Ochoa O’Leary and UA Anthropology alumna and Executive Director of the Colibrí Center for Human Rights Robin Reineke about immigration through the United States’ southern border and how it is studied. They also address the tragic results of government immigration policies and remember the thousands of migrants who have lost their lives crossing the desert.	Celestino Fernández Anna Ochoa O’Leary Robin Reineke Raquel Rubio-Goldsmith _______________________ Moderated by: Maribel Alvarez

SBS Activities Schedule

Saturday, March 1110:00 AM to 12:00 PM		The American Dream Game Sociology professor Brian Mayer introduces kids of all ages to the complexities of inequality with this game of bean bag toss that links distance to conditions of wealth, race, and identity. Sun Prints with Women in Science and Engineering In the 1800s, botanist Anna Atkins published the first book illustrated with photographic images that used the cyanotype photographic process. Come visit our booth to create a cyanotype print of your own!
Saturday, March 1112:30 PM to 2:30 PM		Middle East Trivia Game and Map Quiz The Center for Middle Eastern Studies offers something for everyone! Try a trivia game and a map quiz, or chat with a UA student from the Middle East. Parents and teachers: Get book recommendations on youth literature about the region. Visual Literacy in the Protestant Reformation During the time of the Protestant Reformation, 90% of the population was illiterate. How, then, did the reformers convey their message to the people? Join the Division for Late Medieval and Reformation Studies in exploring the visual language of early modern broadsheets and the stories these images told of a starkly divided world.
Saturday, March 113:00 PM to 5:00 PM		Middle East Trivia Game and Map Quiz The Center for Middle Eastern Studies offers something for everyone! Try a trivia game and a map quiz, or chat with a UA student from the Middle East. Parents and teachers: Get book recommendations on youth literature about the region. Social Media Training with Tracey Todd Tracey Todd, Social Media Director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse, demonstrates the social media training techniques found in his latest book, Maneuvering Social Media, and highlights NICD’s current “Revive Civility” campaign.
Sunday, March 1210:00 AM to 12:00 PM		The Prison Education Project and Writing Games Learn more about the Prison Education Project, a community literacy project partnering UA faculty and students with local prisons through poetry workshops. Come for interactive writing games and original work from our student inmates. Grab copies of Rain Shadow Review and meet UA students involved with the project. Savoring Tucson's Food and Culture Celebrate Tucson’s UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation and share Tucson’s local edible foods with Iskashitaa Refugee Network — where food justice, environmental sustainability and international cultural exchange meet. Sponsored by the Southwest Folklife Alliance.
Sunday, March 1212:30 PM to 2:30 PM		Meet Future Authors: Sonora Review Sonora Review is the University of Arizona’s graduate student-run literary journal, the second-oldest in the country. The editors-in-chief will be available to answer questions about submitting work, the publication process, and the journal’s 2017 contests in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. SIROW: Sowing the Seeds The Southwest Institute for Research on Women (SIROW)’s creative writing group, “Sowing the Seeds,” presents their work and offers interactive writing activities to the public.
Sunday, March 123:00 PM to 5:00 PM		Celebrate UA Student Creativity: Persona Persona is UA’s magazine for literature and art run for and by undergraduates. The editors-in-chief will provide information about submissions and the publication process, and have issues of the magazine available for browsing. Traditional Medicine and Social Justice Lotería The Department of Mexican American Studies invites you to learn about traditional medicine and Chicanx history. Join us at our tea-making station and play Social Justice Lotería with our students.