The Nebraska-based writers and spoken word artists Ben Wenzl, Jewel Rodgers, and Rachel Luck will open for GARY SOTO.

Soto will give a reading before joining NWC Co-Executive Director, Gina Tranisi, in conversation about his creative practice, his community, and his place in the creative canon.

Gary Soto is known for a body of work that deals with the realities of growing up in Mexican American communities. In poems, novels, short stories, plays and over two dozen books for young people, Soto recreates the world of the barrio, the urban, Spanish-speaking neighborhood where he was raised, bringing the sights, sounds and smells vividly to life within the pages of his books. Soto’s poetry and prose focus on everyday experiences while evoking the harsh forces that often shape life for Chicanos, including racism, poverty, and crime. (Excerpt taken from the Poetry Foundation.)

Gary Soto’s poetry reading is part of the Touring Artist Series of the All Writes Reserved Youth Poetry Festival.

Ticket required.