From Poetry Magazine

The LaVerne Harrell Clark Photographic Collection: University of Arizona Poetry Center

Originally Published: October 24, 2016

 

Poet Rita Dove wears sunglasses and holds a cup outside the University of Arizona Poetry Center in Tucson, Arizona.
Poet Rita Dove wears sunglasses and holds a cup outside the University of Arizona Poetry Center in Tucson, Arizona. 1985.

 

The University of Arizona Poetry Center is one of my favorite places in the world. Poetry Foundation Library Director Katherine Litwin and I have worked closely with their deft and generous staff on exhibits here and there. Our exhibition Shame Every Rose: Images from Afghanistan travelled to the Poetry Center in spring 2015.  In spring 2016 we hosted Vintage Poetry Center Posters from their glorious archive. And now there's more...!

The Center recently launched an online gallery for the LaVerne Harrell Clark Photographic Collection, featuring more than 1,000 digitized photographs of poets taken by their first director, LaVerne Harrell Clark. The collection itself is comprised of approximately 12,000 film negatives and photographic prints captured at the Poetry Center and other locations in Tucson, ca. 1960–2007. Its beauty is addictive.

I've been waiting for uninterrupted time to navigate this great new archive and wow was it worth it. (Sifting through the images reminds me of Poetry Foundation's own Poet Photos: From the Archives of "Poetry" Magazine, which appeared in shorter form in Poetry, November 2012.)

As you might could tell, we love reading poems and looking at photos here at Poetry Foundation. The more the better. So in honor of this momentous occasion (albeit belatedly), here are 20 of my personal favorites, alongside their fastidious and charming captions. Plus love and gratitude to the amazing Wendy Burk, Hannah Ensor, Sarah Kortemeier, and Tyler Meier!

Enjoy!

—Fred Sasaki, Art Director, Poetry magazine

 

 

Poet Helen Adam talking with her hands and wearing a sequined hat at the 1981 Bisbee Poetry Festival in Bisbee, Arizona.
Poet Helen Adam talking with her hands and wearing a sequined hat at the 1981 Bisbee Poetry Festival in Bisbee, Arizona.

 

 

 

Poet Ai looks into the distance with one hand on a wall at the University of Arizona Poetry Center for the Fall 1972 Reading and Lecture Series.
Poet Ai looks into the distance with one hand on a wall at the University of Arizona Poetry Center for the Fall 1972 Reading and Lecture Series.

 

 

 

Poet and novelist Ray A. Young Bear smiles and holds a cup in the University of Arizona Modern Languages Auditorium at his reading for the Poetry Center's Spring 1993 Reading and Lecture Series.
Poet and novelist Ray A. Young Bear smiles and holds a cup in the University of Arizona Modern Languages Auditorium at his reading for the Poetry Center's Spring 1993 Reading and Lecture Series.

 

 

 

Sandra Cisneros sits at a table at the 2006 Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference in Austin, Texas.
Sandra Cisneros sits at a table at the 2006 Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference in Austin, Texas.

 

 

 

Poet Lucille Clifton sits in a checkered suit at the University of Arizona Poetry Center during her visit for the Center's Fall 1975 Reading and Lecture Series.
Poet Lucille Clifton sits in a checkered suit at the University of Arizona Poetry Center during her visit for the Center's Fall 1975 Reading and Lecture Series.

 

 

 

Poet Alan Dugan poses with cactus and ocotillo in the background outside the St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center at the University of Arizona. This photo was taken during Dugan's visit for the Poetry Center's Fall 1966 Reading and Lecture Series.
Poet Alan Dugan poses with cactus and ocotillo in the background outside the St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center at the University of Arizona. This photo was taken during Dugan's visit for the Poetry Center's Fall 1966 Reading and Lecture Series.

 

 

 

Poet, editor, and translator Carolyn Forché with a cigarette in one hand in the University of Arizona Modern Languages Building after her reading for the Poetry Center's Fall 1983 Reading and Lecture Series.
Poet, editor, and translator Carolyn Forché with a cigarette in one hand in the University of Arizona Modern Languages Building after her reading for the Poetry Center's Fall 1983 Reading and Lecture Series.

 

 

 

Poet Jorie Graham in the University of Arizona Modern Languages Building after her reading for the Poetry Center's Fall 1982 Reading and Lecture Series.
Poet Jorie Graham in the University of Arizona Modern Languages Building after her reading for the Poetry Center's Fall 1982 Reading and Lecture Series.

 

 

 

Poet and musician Joy Harjo with her saxophone. 1990.
Poet and musician Joy Harjo with her saxophone. 1990.

 

 

 

Poet Michael S. Harper poses in sunglasses for the University of Arizona Poetry Center's Spring 1973 Reading and Lecture Series.
Poet Michael S. Harper poses in sunglasses for the University of Arizona Poetry Center's Spring 1973 Reading and Lecture Series.

 

 

 

Poet and editor Joyce Jenkins sits holding her knees at the 1981 Bisbee Poetry Festival in Bisbee, Arizona.
Poet and editor Joyce Jenkins sits holding her knees at the 1981 Bisbee Poetry Festival in Bisbee, Arizona.

 

 

 

Nobel Prize-winning novelist, poet, and playwright Doris Lessing wears a brown-orange sweater and poses in front of a Southwest landscape. 1972.
Nobel Prize-winning novelist, poet, and playwright Doris Lessing wears a brown-orange sweater and poses in front of a Southwest landscape. 1972.

 

 

 

Poet Harryette Mullen reads on stage at the 1981 Lone Star Poetry Festival in Austin, Texas.
Poet Harryette Mullen reads on stage at the 1981 Lone Star Poetry Festival in Austin, Texas.

 

 

 

Poet bpNichol at the 1988 Tucson Poetry Festival in Tucson, Arizona.
Poet bpNichol at the 1988 Tucson Poetry Festival in Tucson, Arizona.

 

 

 

Poet Alice Notley wears a white Bisbee t-shirt at the 1981 Bisbee Poetry Festival in Bisbee, Arizona.
Poet Alice Notley wears a white Bisbee t-shirt at the 1981 Bisbee Poetry Festival in Bisbee, Arizona.

 

 

 

Poet, folklorist, and translator A.K. Ramanujan poses with one hand on his left hip at The University of Arizona Poetry Center for the Poetry Center's Spring 1972 Reading and Lecture Series.
Poet, folklorist, and translator A.K. Ramanujan poses with one hand on his left hip at The University of Arizona Poetry Center for the Poetry Center's Spring 1972 Reading and Lecture Series.

 

 

 

Poet Ruth Stone poses under a shop window during her visit for the University of Arizona Poetry Center's Fall 1965 Reading and Lecture Series.
Poet Ruth Stone poses under a shop window during her visit for the University of Arizona Poetry Center's Fall 1965 Reading and Lecture Series.

 

 

 

Poet and playwright May Swenson poses sitting with a cup in hand for the University of Arizona Poetry Center's Spring 1965 Reading and Lecture Series.
Poet and playwright May Swenson poses sitting with a cup in hand for the University of Arizona Poetry Center's Spring 1965 Reading and Lecture Series.

 

 

 

Novelist, short story writer, and poet Alice Walker stands in front of a classroom at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. 1981.
Novelist, short story writer, and poet Alice Walker stands in front of a classroom at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. 1981.

 

 

 

David Raphael Wang sits with arms resting on one raised knee. 1975.
David Raphael Wang sits with arms resting on one raised knee. 1975.

 

All photograph by LaVerne Harrell Clark. Courtesy of The University of Arizona Poetry Center. Copyright Arizona Board of Regents.