For nearly a decade, journalist  Margaret Regan has reported on the chaos along the Arizona-Mexico border.  Undocumented migrants like 14 year-old Josseline cross into the state in overwhelming numbers, pushed into its dangerous deserts by a U.S. border policy that seals off safer urban crossings.  And Arizona has the highest number of migrant deaths.  Traveling to both sides of the border, she visits migrants stranded in Mexican shelters and rides shotgun with the Border Patrol, hiking with them in the scorching Arizona desert.  She camps in the back country with "No More Deaths" activists and speaks to angry ranchers and vigilantes.  Regan writes firsthand of the desperation that compels people to cross, of the environmental damage wrought by the new border wall, and of the unidentified bodies piled up in a Tucson morgue.

This Valentine’s month, come celebrate the flipside of romance!

Join us for readings by
Alison Hawthorne Deming,
Steve Orlen and Richard Shelton,
all of whose poems are included in the anthology,
It’s Not You, It’s Me: The Poetry of Break Up,
edited by Jerry Williams. 

This touching, angry, and hilarious anthology gives a fresh voice to the all too familiar experience of ending a relationship. Jerry Williams compiled over 90 poems that create a therapeutic and transformative, edgy yet sincere collection. The book incorporates work from as many different perspectives as possible (female and male, gay and straight, innocent and guilty) in order to explore the exquisite pain of heartbreak.

Maria Finn shares how she gets her groove back post-divorce with Argentine tango lessons and a life-changing trip to Buenos Aires.  This memoir is an exhilarating adventure, exploring the fascinating culture, music, and moves of this sexy, sometimes heartbreaking, yet ultimately life-affirming dance.  With each new step—the embrace, the hook, the sweep, the throw—Maria begins to connect with people in a new way.  Gradually, she finds the confidence to try romance again and discovers the strength needed to pursue a new life.
 

There will be a tango demonstration this evening!