The UA Poetry Center has been celebrating its 50th anniversary all year. And on Saturday, it’s ending that year-long celebration with a large public event called the “”Young at Art Festival.”” It’s free and open to the public, and visitors can come and go any time between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
“”We wanted to do something … that was kind of spectacular and involved the whole community and the whole city,”” explained Renee Angle, the program coordinator for the Poetry Center. The festival is inspired by the art of the written word but will have many events beyond just poetry. Musicians, chalk artists and visual artists will also be involved. The festival even features dancers, who will improvise to interpret the words of any poem.
There will be many events for children, but the festival has a lot to offer college-age students as well. “”We have a book binder from Kore Press who’s going to be there all day binding journals, and I think that’s something that students could definitely use,”” Angle said. She added that students can enjoy live music from a vinyl DJ as well as great food.
National Slam Champion Roger Bonair-Agard will perform during the evening as a part of the Tucson Youth Poetry Slam. “”He’s won the national championship several times and is a very well regarded poet. We’re very excited (for) his performance,”” Angle said.
The Poetry Center is also attempting to create Tucson’s longest poem, a piece which Angle said may become long enough to wrap around the entire Poetry Center by the end of the night. It will begin as a blank page which anyone is invited to contribute to. “”It’ll start out hung over a 17 foot wall inside the library. Then, it’ll be woven between the stacks in the library. We’ll just see how long it gets and where it ends up,”” Angle explained.
Parking will also be free around the Poetry Center for the day. A schedule of performances is available at the Poetry Center’s website, poetry.arizona.edu. However, no planning is necessary — Angle noted that the event will also be great for browsing. “”Someone who just comes and wanders through is sure to find some interesting surprises,”” Angle said.
