Nearly 1000 people from 5 countries waxed poetic about life in Tucson, Arizona, when the city put out a call for haiku submissions in its first annual Old Pueblo Poems literary competition.
You can find the poems on signs nestled among desert plants along Congress Street and Stone Avenue in Downtown Tucson.
Phillip and I spotted a few – which you can see photos of below – while we were headed to The Screening Room for the Arizona International Film Festival (AZIFF).
Several of the selections for this year’s AZIFF featured poetry in some form, and there were poetry readings almost daily. So having haiku sprinkled down the street in front of the Screening Room was a perfect complement.
Waiting for the buzz
Of late-summer cicadas
Yellow flowers fall.
–Alanna Mejia
El Presidio
Layers of time not of past
Sun warmed adobe
–Philip Dean Brown
late night dance party
confetti spills down Congress
monsoon washes clean
–Lisa Periale Martin
Now the day goes still
Letting Tucson catch its breath
While the sky burns red
–Judi Molina
– More info on Old Pueblo Poems –
On display during daylight hours, now through June 1.
The sun was setting over a dusty rest stop off I-8 in southern Arizona.
We stood among the typical collection of bathroom buildings, empty picnic tables, and overflowing garbage cans, while the sky turned a brilliant gold. The color intensified, spreading upward from behind the silhouettes of jagged mountains before transforming into a fiery pink.
I think it’s easy to quickly dismiss a place or experience or a moment as being too ugly or just ordinary. But when you look past the obvious, you may be able to find what makes it special.
Because where you are is not as important as where you look.
It was just cool enough to sit on the porch awhile the morning I took September’s photo, and Quijote seemed to want a little extra sun.
The sky was mottled with little white clouds, like the edges of the approaching cloud bank had crumbled off ahead of it.
They reminded me of the bits of cream cheese you get when it’s too cold to spread properly. Or the pattern of paint after a timid first pass on a textured wall.
Later, the wind and air pressure and afternoon heat would work together to spread the storm clouds across the sky and cover it completely.
I found 5 Arizona museums – 1 in Tucson and 4 in the Phoenix area – that I’ve visited and would recommend. They’re listed below in alphabetical order, followed by a few bonus suggestions from Indiana, Seattle, and Washington D.C.
There are cactus and succulent galleries, a wildflower trail, a contemplation garden, exhibits on historical peoples of the Sonoran Desert, cafes with patio seating, and art sprinkled throughout. Located in Papago Park near the Phoenix Zoo, it beautifully showcases the plants of the Arizona desert and is one of the top places I recommend to Phoenix visitors.
Another place at the top of my Phoenix must-see list is the Heard Museum!
It’s an extensive museum of American Indian art, culture, and history, focusing on the tribes of the Southwest. They display both traditional and contemporary art, including jewelry, ceramics, katsina dolls, and textiles. There is also an immersive exhibit on the Indian boarding school experience.
Tucson’s MOCA hosts rotating contemporary art exhibitions in an airy space converted from an old fire station. They also have a fabulous little gift shop with jewelry, prints, and gift items by local artists.
Conner Prairie in Central Indiana is a living history museum that I loved visiting as a kid! I remember candle-dipping demonstrations and sitting in on a lesson in an old-timey one-room schoolhouse. Even though I haven’t been there in years, it made me smile to see it on the Museum Day list.
The Experience Music Project (EMP) was recently re-named the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP). It makes sense, because, while they do have an atrium devoted to constantly-playing music videos (“Sky Church”), a towering guitar sculpture, and galleries for Seattle legends like Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana, there are also exhibitions on sci-fi, video games, fantasy genre archetypes, and other subjects besides music.
Housed within a striking building designed by Frank O. Gehry, MoPOP is located at Seattle Center, near the Space Needle.
Washington, DC–
I think DC’s lesser-known museums can sometimes get lost in the shadows of the more imposing, free-admission Smithsonian Museums on the National Mall. If the cost of admission is what’s keeping you away, then Museum Day is a great opportunity to finally visit!
I very much wanted to visit the Newseum while we were in DC, but I just couldn’t fit it in. It’s a museum about the news, specifically how breaking stories are covered and the importance of a free press.
