University of Arizona Poetry Center - Poetry Center Educational Programs

Poetry Center Educational Programs

The Poetry Center administers a diverse range of programs and educational activities that create poetic literacy and cultivate a wide literary readership.

Adult Programs Throughout the year, the Poetry Center offers non-credit creative writing workshops as well as classes and seminars on poetry and prose. Shop Talk discussion groups offer mini-lectures on featured poets, followed by a conversation on the poet's work. The Closer Look Book Club provides an opportunity for in-depth conversation about prose literature. The Poetry Center also provides support to the Arizona State Prison Creative Writing Workshops founded by University of Arizona Regents' Professor Richard Shelton and supported by a grant from the Lannan Foundation. Inmates attend weekly workshops, write, edit and submit work to a dedicated journal, Rain Shadow, which is available at the Poetry Center.

Pre-K to 12 Programs The Poetry Center offers a monthly Family Days activity program for children of all ages and their families. It also offers online poetry resources and lesson plans for teachers of all grade levels. High school outreach includes a statewide Bilingual Corrido Contest and Southern Arizona support of the National Poetry Out Loud Competition.

Contests The Poetry Center sponsors a number of annual contests to benefit and reward writers. In addition to the Corrido Contest, the Center sponsors a national writer's residency, and writing contests for University of Arizona graduate and undergraduate students.