For September’s First Friday, the Phoenix Art Museum will host a free poetry reading featuring award-winning poets Tarfia Faizullah and francine j. harris.
The event is part of an ongoing poetry reading series the museum hosts with the University of Arizona Poetry Center. The museum hosts 4-5 readings like this one annually, and cites this performance as the museum’s first dual reading since the collaboration’s inception last year.
“It makes sense to maximize their time here so they have a chance to reach a Phoenix audience,” said Christian Adame, the museum’s Interim Education Department Manager, who is responsible for coordinating with the Poetry Center to bring this event downtown.
When it comes to these two poets in particular, the night will be a study in strong female voices. harris, a Detroit-born poet and ASU graduate, often explores themes of urban life and modern social identities, as in her poem “This Is a Test.”
Faizullah, in contrast to harris’ more local inspirations, draws from her past experience as a Fulbright Scholar in Bangladesh. The hardship and violence she witnessed against women during the Bangladesh Liberation War is a central influence of her work.
“[Faizullah’s work] has a deep relationship to history, a national history, but also is very much an individual’s perspective at a point in time and an American individual’s perspective,” said Tyler Meier, the executive director of the UA Poetry Center.
The two poets do have a few commonalities despite their particular subject matters. harris grew up in Detroit, where Faizullah currently lives.
“We are excited to see those overlaps and synergies between them,” Meier said.
harris’ and Faizullah’s visit also go along with the museum’s and UA Poetry Center’s goal of exposing rising poetry stars.
“This reading series brings in writers who are emerging and don’t have a large record of publication, but have achieved some success already,” Meier said. “We are excited to host them early in their careers and to see the big things they go off to.”
The event doesn’t fall on Friday by coincidence —- the date helps maximize the crowds, who can get in to the reading for free that day, Adame said.
“We like to do them on First Fridays since First Fridays are free from 6-10 p.m. to the public,” Adame said. “There’s no cost issue. It’s open to anyone who wants to come and enjoy world-class poetry here at the museum.”
Another goal of the event is to show that the Phoenix Art Museum has a dedication to art in all forms, not just visual mediums. The institution wants to make that art available to members of the downtown Phoenix community who would otherwise never attend a poetry reading, Adame said.
“I always love the skeptics who don’t think they like art, who don’t think they like poetry, because those people always walk away with a whole different perspective,” Adame said.
The Phoenix Art Museum is located on Central Avenue and McDowell Road. The event will take place in the museum’s Whiteman Hall at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4.
Contact the reporter at caleb.manning@asu.edu
