Episode 816

Essays from the Borderlands Each year, the Southwest Field Studies in Writing program sends three writers to Patagonia, AZ. The writers live, work and visit social justice and environmental organizations. They explore collaborative research and reciprocal learning. At the end of the residency, they present an essay related to their experience. In this story, we hear from the organizers and fellows of the program.

Santa Cruz Church The cultural and architectural significance of Santa Cruz Church after 100 years of community building; a native-led foundation works to protect sacred places, native languages, and sustainable community-based agriculture; butterflies are essential pollinators and are now being challenged by climate change. (This story originally aired in January 2020.)

Dream History Tour Poet Mathias Svalina takes us on a dream history tour of downtown Tucson. The guided walk left MOCA Tucson with around 50 participants and stopped at key locations where the writer describes events that never happened. Svalina combines Tucson’s history which he studied while in residence at the University of Arizona Poetry Center with his own surrealist interpretations. His aim is to unlock the city’s dream logic which he says is often analogous to the way its real history is remembered. Tweet