The UA Poetry Center, along with local writer and UA alumna Nancy Mairs, accepted the 2008 Arizona Literary Treasure Awards from the Arizona Humanities Council yesterday afternoon.

The center, which debuted a renovated poetry facility in October, is the first organization to receive the honor, which celebrates significant contribution to the literary heritage of the state.

“”The Poetry Center really is a literary treasure, and it is one that is not as well known as it should be,”” said Helen Schaefer, the Poetry Center’s development committee chair.

About 50 patrons and fans of Nancy Mairs attended yesterday, along with representatives from the Poetry Center and the Arizona Humanities Council.

The ceremony echoed the “”Reading the Best: Arizona Celebrates Books and Writers”” event held Saturday at the Tempe Center for the Arts, where the awards were originally presented.

The awards are given in recognition of significant contribution to the literary heritage of the state, said Jill Bernstein, development director of the Arizona Humanities Council.

The center features one of the largest libraries in the nation, with more than 60,000 items.

Tucson and the UA resonate with literary talent, Bernstein said, which is why this year the Council picked both an individual and an organization.

Kim Fernandez, chair of the Arizona Humanities Council’s board of directors, presented the awards.

She described Mairs and the Poetry Center as “”wonderful and accomplished literary treasures.””

Mairs, a poet and essayist, “”is a wonderful and important writer whose work crackles with energy and wit,”” Fernandez said. “”She is telling stories and ideas that the world needs to read.””

Mairs holds a master’s degree in creative writing from the UA. She was awarded the 1984 Western State’s Book Award in Poetry and received a National Endowments for the Arts Fellowship in 1991.

Her published works include “”In All the Rooms of the Yellow House”” and “”Carnal Acts.””

Her essays and poems explore the topics of disability, faith, peace and justice from the perspective of a disabled Western writer.

“”When I arrived here in 1972 to work on my master’s, I couldn’t have imagined being here today,”” Mairs said. “”I know that without a community like this, I wouldn’t be here.””

Frances Sjoberg, the Poetry Center’s literary director, spoke of the importance of the award for the facility. She quoted Walt Whitman: “”To have great poetry, you have to have a great audience.””

“”Tucson is the best audience, and for that I thank Tucson for creating this literary treasure,”” she said.