This is the first in a series of blogs about things I love about Tucson. Ever since we began entertaining the sudden prospect of moving, I started going through my mental list of all of the things I cherish and will really miss once I leave. The list was so ridiculously long that it became necessary to put things in categories, and it looks like I’ll have about twelve.
Obviously Tucson has one of the best free weekly papers in the Tucson Weekly, which is found in bright red boxes on street corners citywide. Although the Weekly has turned me down for both a job and an unpaid internship, and although I still sorely feel the loss of brilliant former staff member Laurel Allen (who had an extraordinary knack for finding cool events to write about) I still get all excited to pick up a fresh new copy every Thursday morning (or Wednesday night, if I’m lucky). The Weekly has tons of current news, humor, event announcement, food reviews and an annual Best of Tucson edition. Plus, they’ve actually used some of my writing and even written about me, so what’s not to love? (P.S. I tried to link to the interview Laurel did with me when I was organizing a local showing of a traveling art exhibit, but the piece is no longer up on the site. I guess I’ve been here a long time.)
The independent bookstore scene in Tucson is sadly limited due to the loss of Reader’s Oasis and Green Fire. However, we still have two amazing independent bookstores I’d like to write about. Antigone Books is the local feminist bookstore. It’s true that you can find these in many towns (In Other Words in Portland, Women and Children First in Chicago) but honestly I see it as a necessity. Antigone’s has weekly quiz questions you can answer (spelling counts!) to be entered in a raffle for a gift certificate! I won once by recognizing poetic verse from the Lorax, and used my free money to pick up the latest copy of Bitch magazine, and some other things. Antigone’s also features book discussion groups and all kinds of authors. It’s where I heard Krysten Sinema promoting her book Unite and Conquer, though I think she would’ve just as easily blended in at standup comedy at Laff’s. But I’ll write about Laff’s on a different day.
Bookmans is the place to go to buy or sell used books, video games, comics, magazines, movies, CDs and more. They are adamantly opposed to censorship and very supportive of educators, the environment and local nonprofits. And they have a cool, fun, energetic vibe that is irresistible. You can spend hours at their chess clubs or other events, or just perusing the best priced books anywhere on any topic imaginable. I’m not really sure how I’ll live without Bookmans.
The Friends of Tucson-Pima Public Library booksale is how I kept my classroom stocked with books. They have these sales a couple times a year where you can literally fill a bag with books for a dollar on certain days. Next sale is November 13-16th!
The University of Arizona Poetry Center is the reason I got to meet one of my heroes, W.S. Merwin, who signed my Norton Anthology. He is pretty amazing, even if he did spend way more time talking to Brooke than me, and I didn’t have the chance to tell him why Losing a Language really spoke to me. The Center hosts all sorts of events and classes, including one which I signed up for that never took place. I think it was called Russian Dolls and Chinese Boxes, or something, and amazing local poet Richard Siken was supposed to be teaching. But this was over three years ago so I may be remembering it incorrectly.
The University of Arizona is also one of the sponsors of Tucson’s Festival of Books, which I sadly never got ot attend.
And last but not least is Kore Press, founded in 1993, which publishes and distributes work by women.
I know that there are bookstores, free weekly papers, book publishers, poetry classes and readings and events and book festivals everywhere… but Tucson has such a unique flair for them.
