Bookmans has always been supportive of local creators and this month we are celebrating Tucson’s passionate poets. April is National Poetry Month and we are featuring a handful of Tucson poets across our social media throughout the month. Get to know these local creatives by following @BookmansEast on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

To end National Poetry Month with a bang, on April 30th from 6:00 pm-8:00 pm, we are inviting local poets to join us for a Virtual Open Mic Night on Zoom with Tucson’s one and only Julia Kinu as our lovely host.

If you would like to reserve a seat at this free virtual event, send an e-mail to eastevents@bookmans.com

Julia Kinu

Julia Kinu is a queer, nonbinary, Japanese/Jewish American, cancer sun, fruit hating, starburst addicted, vintage matchbook collecting, dry skin having poet, based in Tucson, AZ. Their chapbook, OJIICHAN OMIYAGE, debuted in December 2020 with Sprawl Press. The collection navigates the complexities of two generations of Japanese heritage – the millennial diaspora and the elderly native. Their work has been featured in Forklift Ohio, Leopardskins & Limes, VIDA, and others. They earned their BA in creative writing at the University of Arizona and were the founder and host of the Owls Club POC Poetry Series, dedicated to lifting the voices of those in the local community and the education that those voices offer. They are a poet of many backgrounds, but that shouldn’t matter if you like the work.