Bookmans not only has fun, free, family events at each of our stores, but we also aim to bring communities together. For the month of October, we’re teaming up with the College of Humanities, the UA Poetry Center, as well as other community partners during the Tucson Humanities Festival! Together we’re supporting the arts and connecting with the community and beyond.

If you’re not familiar with the Tucson Humanities Festival, The University of Arizona College of Humanities began presenting an annual series of public outreach events in the spring of 2009. The event showcases included timely projects and topics of broad interest.

Under the name Humanities Week, this program continued, with attendance steadily rising. Additionally, presentations expanded to include faculty speakers, film screenings, and distinguished guests. The aim is to reflect the interdisciplinary scope of the College’s programs. In 2011, Humanities Week began organizing the presentations around a central theme, which continues on.

The annual theme allows the College to focus on showcasing its innovative research. These teaching programs share the impact of humanities with the community. In 2016, the name of the series changed from Humanities Week to the Tucson Humanities Festival. In light of this change, it has now grown to a month-long series of events.

This year the theme of the festival is NEXT. Humanity’s achievements bring about widespread changes. We’ve harnessed fire, created languages, and built civilizations. We’ve explored our planet and beyond. New technologies rise. New ideas develop. People and culture influence one another. How will society transform again? What’s beyond the horizon? Can the past be a guide for the future? How can the humanities shape tomorrow’s world? What’s Next?

Sandra Cisneros Tucson Humanities Festival

As part of the partnership, we’ll kick off October with a Celebration of Sandra Cisneros. Cisneros is the keynote guest of the Tucson Humanities Festival. Join us October 5th at 3 pm at Bookmans Midtown for activities, poetry, and more! Read to dogs from Gabriel’s Angels, join Urban Poetry Pollinators in community chalking, and also enjoy readings by Writing the Community and Chicanos Por La Causa. You’ll also have a chance to attend a reading by Sandra Cisneros from her new book Puro Amor on October 24th! Plus, you can win tickets to attend a private reception with Sandra Cisneros!

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Sandra Cisneros is a poet, short story writer, novelist, and essayist. Her latest work is the bilingual chapbook Puro Amor, also features her own illustrations. Her classic, coming-of-age novel, The House on Mango Street has sold over six million copies. She has earned numerous awards including NEA fellowships in both poetry and fiction, the Texas Medal of the Arts, and the MacArthur Fellowship. Cisneros is the 2019 recipient of the prestigious PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature as well.

Visit any Bookmans location from October 5th – October 20th and create a poem or drawing inspired by Sandra Cisnero’s New Book: Puro Amor. All entries will be entered for a chance to win tickets to a private reception taking place on October 24th at the UA Grand Ballroom, prior to Sandra’s reading!

You can find Bookmans Tucson around town at these Tucson Humanities Festival events:

URBAN HUMANITIES: NEW PRACTICES FOR REIMAGINING THE CITY

Jonathan Jae-an Crisman
UA Public & Applied Humanities

OCTOBER 02 @ PLAYGROUND
278 E. CONGRESS ST.
5:30 PM HAPPY HOUR (COMPLIMENTARY APPETIZERS, CASH BAR)
6:30 PM LECTURE

DESIGNING WOMEN: OVERLOOKED TRAILBLAZERS OF THE BAUHAUS

Elizabeth Otto
University at Buffalo

An affiliate event of Tucson Modernism Week

OCTOBER 7 @ UA MUSEUM OF ART
1031 N. OLIVE ROAD
3:00 PM & 5:00 PM
$5 PER PERSON

FRIENDS OR ENEMIES: POLITICS & POETRY IN CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN RAP

Philip Ewell
Hunter College

OCTOBER 18 @ RUBEL ROOM, UA POETRY CENTER
1508 E. HELEN ST.
6 PM RECEPTION
7 PM LECTURE

PURO AMOR: A READING WITH SANDRA CISNEROS

OCTOBER 24 @ UA STUDENT UNION GRAND BALLROOM
1303 E. UNIVERSITY BLVD.
7:00 PM LECTURE