The National Writers Union will be hosting a reading and open mic on Monday, May 20, starting at 6:00 p.m. in Tucson. Our featured reader this month will be Elizabeth Henson, who will be reading from her book Agrarian Revolt in the Sierra of Chihuahua, 1959–1965 (University of Arizona Press, 2019). The book describes how, “on September 23, 1965, thirteen young revolutionaries attacked an army base in the remote logging town of Madera, Chihuahua. This was the final act of an effervescent public protest movement, focused on agrarian rights but extending beyond, that became a general revolt by 1964. Agrarian Revolt in the Sierra of Chihuahua, 1959–1965 tells the story of that tragic adventure, from resistance to resource extraction in the backlands to the influence of the Cuban Revolution. A sympathetic but critical look at Mexico’s first socialist guerrilla struggle.” Elizabeth is a lifelong activist who received a doctorate in history from the University of Arizona in 2015. She continues to write and research in Bisbee and Douglas, Arizona and has both traveled extensively through and lived in Mexico.

The open mic is for spoken word only, but is open to all forms of spoken word (fiction, essays, poetry, articles, polemics, etc.). So bring something to read!

The event will be held at the AFSCME/SEIU Union Hall at 877 S. Alvernon Way in Tucson. The building is on the east side of the street (opposite the Randolph Park golf range) and is a couple of blocks north of 22nd Street. There is ample parking. The room is on the first floor and we will have signs up to point the way.

The next NWU Tucson Friday morning breakfast will take place on Friday, May 24, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. at Laverna's Coffee Shop. The address is 220 S. Plumer, which is one block south of Broadway, on the west side of Plumer. See you there!