FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Information
Kelly Wiehe
Cultural Affairs Officer
City Manager’s Office
520-540-7508
Gia Del Pino
Communications Manager
Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona
520-624-0595, ext. 4
Melissa Goodrich
Digital Strategy & Marketing Coordinator
University of Arizona Poetry Center
City of Tucson Announces Open Call for 2026-2029 Tucson Poet Laureate
Celebrating Literary Excellence, Community Voice, and Civic Engagement
TUCSON, AZ — The City of Tucson, in partnership with the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona and the University of Arizona Poetry Center, is pleased to announce the open call for the next Tucson Poet Laureate. This three-year honorary appointment begins March 1, 2026, and includes a $15,000 honorarium to recognize the Laureate’s artistic and public contribution.
The Tucson Poet Laureate program honors outstanding literary achievement and supports poets in engaging the public through creative expression, education, and community connection. It aims to strengthen the relationship between the arts and civic life, while encouraging poetry as a source of reflection and inspiration throughout the Tucson community.
Tucson’s strength is found in our history and stories—shaped by many cultures, languages, and lived experiences,” said Regina Romero, Mayor of Tucson. “As we continue the Poet Laureate program, we honor the legacy of TC Tolbert, our current Laureate, while welcoming new voices to connect us across the arts. This next Laureate will deepen community bonds and inspire reflection, understanding, and belonging. Together, we will advance our Somos Uno cultural heritage plan through the power of poetry.”
Open to Tucson residents with at least two years of continuous residency at the time of application, the Poet Laureate will serve as the City’s official ambassador for poetry, bringing the literary arts into schools, neighborhoods, and public events throughout Tucson.
“Having a poet serve as a voice for both the people and government, especially in times like these, is a powerful opportunity to bridge divides, challenge narratives, and spark reflection about ourselves and our world,” said Adriana Gallego, CEO, Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona. “Poets help us understand each other through beauty and imagination.”
“The Poetry Center is thrilled to support a robust public life for poetry in Tucson and Southern Arizona by supporting our next Tucson Poet Laureate,” said Tyler Meier, Executive Director of The University of Arizona Poetry Center. “We know poetry is an art form that simultaneously can help us both better understand ourselves while teaching us about our relationship to others. We celebrate the work of TC Tolbert, our outgoing laureate, and look forward to partnering with our new laureate with great excitement.
The Tucson Poet Laureate will:
- Present a public launch reading at the 2026 Tucson Festival of Books
- Lead a community-centered poetry project
- Expand access to poetry in classrooms and community spaces
- Write a commemorative poem honoring the City of Tucson
- Participate in civic events, including the State of the City address
- Support citywide cultural initiatives, including up to three Somos Uno activations each year
- Share documentation of public programs and appearances with the Arts Foundation for use in public communications
Applications open October 30, 2025. For more information on eligibility and how to apply, visit: https://artsfoundtucson.org/tucson-poet-laureaterfq/
About the City of Tucson Arts & Culture Initiatives
The City of Tucson celebrates and invests in the rich artistic, cultural, and heritage traditions that shape our vibrant desert community. Rooted in centuries of diverse cultural expression, Tucson supports programs and partnerships that uplift local artists, strengthen cultural spaces, expand creative opportunities, and foster belonging for all residents. Through the groundbreaking ¡SOMOS UNO! Cultural Heritage Strategy, the City affirms that our many voices and traditions are one shared foundation for a creative future. For more information about the City’s cultural affairs work, visit https://tucsonaz.gov/culturalaffairs.
The Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and funding agency with a mission to advance the artistic expression, civic participation, and equitable economic growth of our diverse communities. Through forward-thinking, accountable leadership, the Arts Foundation works to affect systemic change that fosters an accessible, diverse, inclusive, and equitable local arts community.
As the designated local arts agency, the Arts Foundation provides arts and cultural development across Southern Arizona for individual working artists, artist collectives, ensembles, and nonprofit organizations through grant programs, professional development opportunities and public art program management for the City of Tucson.
The work of the Arts Foundation is made possible through generous support from the City of Tucson, Pima County, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Arizona Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and individual donors. Our service area includes all counties and native sovereign nations South of the Gila River, including 372 miles along the US-Mexico international border in the South and along the 590-mile stretch of the Gila River, which flows west from the New Mexico border to the Colorado River.
The Poetry Center is a leading literary institution and a living archive of poetry. One of the finest and largest print/digital collections of contemporary poetry in America with more than 120,000 cataloged items. The Poetry Center is a permanent landmark home for poetry in the American Southwest, and has welcomed over one thousand poets to Tucson to read since its founding in 1960. The Center’s education programs annually serve Arizona school children, college students, and community members. Through the premiere audiovisual archive, Voca, The Poetry Center provides free access to poetry to the greater literary community in Tucson and beyond. The Poetry Center is committed to the future of poetry, poetics, literary arts, and the ever-growing community that we serve and cherish. Learn more at poetry.arizona.edu.
