Writer in Residence
Writer in Residence: Oscar Mancinas
Mesa Public Library is excited to partner with the Arizona State Library and welcome Oscar Mancinas as our Writer in Residence from May 18 to July 18. Oscar Mancinas is a Rarámuri-Chicano poet, scholar, and teacher. He is a Mesa local and his published works include the 2020 short story collection To Live and Die in El Valle and the out-of-print 2022 collection of poetry des__: papeles, palabras, & poems from the desert.
Find more of his work or contact him at oscarmancinas.wordpress.com. During his time as the Writer in Residence, he will offer writing consultations to help aspiring authors fine-tune their work at Main Library. There is a limit of 1 signup per week and 2 per month.
Writer in Residence Consultation Hours
Improve your writing with 30-minute one-on-one consultation sessions. Patrons are limited to one session per week, with a maximum of two sessions per month. To book a time slot, select the month below to access the event calendar:
Workshops
Authoring Home: Arizona's Indigenous and Chicano Literary History
Mon | May 18 | 5:30pm – 7:30pm | Main Library
This presentation focuses on two early twentieth-century Arizona authors, Refugio Savala (Yoeme-Mexican) and Mario Suárez (Chicano), and details how their respective literary journeys and published works helped give voice to people not otherwise represented in local and national literature. Though subtle, Savala and Suárez’s early work persists for their careful considering of identity, storytelling, justice, and resistance - all of which influenced future generations of Indigenous and Mexican-American authors and projects within Arizona. This presentation culminates in a free-writing exercise, emphasizing depictions of ideas of “home.”
Blackout/Collage Poetry Workshop
Thurs | May 28 | 6:00pm – 7:30pm | Main Library
Former-Arizona Poet Laureate Albert Ríos once wrote “words are our weakest hold on the world,” and this was before a global pandemic, and its consequent fallout, threw us all off our axes. This workshop aims not to recapture our hold on the world but to reimagine words we encounter daily and maybe take for granted. Through examples and exercises, we will (re)consider previously published texts and (re)work them into works of prose, poetry, or some mix thereof.
Thoughts & Poems: The Legacy of Ofelia Zepeda and Sun Tracks on Arizona Literature
Thurs | June 4 | 5:30pm – 7:30pm | Main Library
This presentation explores the impact of poet, linguist and editor Ofelia Zepeda and the Sun Tracks Publishing Series on Arizona literature and Indigenous voices. The session will conclude with a free-writing exercise focused on collaboration, storytelling and creative expression.
Generative Writing Workshop
Thurs | June 18 | 6:00pm – 7:00pm | Main Library
This workshop will examine different approaches for brainstorming, outlining, and beginning to draft a story. This story may ultimately take the form of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, or some hybrid form, but our critical emphasis will be on, first, comprehending stories in the abstract, and then proceeding to draft with clear intentions and considerations in mind. Stories can be driven by voice, character(s) desire(s), plotting, or theme(s) - this workshop aims to examine these approaches and more.
Roberto Bolano's "Beach" and Approaches to Revision
Tues | July 7 | 6:00pm – 7:30pm | Main Library
This workshop emphasizes revision. As such, it will start with a collective reading of Robert Bolano's short prose piece "Beach." From there, participants will engage in methods of textual revision - contemplating syntax, punctuation, clarity, voice, and other literary elements. The workshop's goal, ultimately, is to highlight how revision can also be a source for new ideas, forming a more recursive part of the writing process.
Send off Reading from To Live and Die in El Valle, Des__: Papeles, Palabras, & Poems from the Desert, and Creative Nonfiction works-in-progress
Thurs | July 16 | 6:00pm – 7:00pm | Main Library
This final reading will feature a blend of previously published works of poetry and fiction, while the Writer in Residence will also read from his latest project-in-progress: a collection of creative nonfiction. Topics examined will be Arizona history, film reviews, family literacy, and the ways through which writers find time, energy, and ideas to write.
This project is supported by the Arizona State Library, Archives & Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State, with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.