KJZZ's Word

National Haiku Writing Month — NaHaiWriMo — concludes. On this episode, we will talk briefly with the randomly selected winner of KJZZ’s third-annual Haiku Writing Contest.

Na Hai Wri Mo — National Haiku Writing Month — continues, and so does KJZZ’s third-annual Haiku Writing Contest. This year’s theme: What's new for you during the pandemic? You can submit up to one original haiku per week. On this episode, we’ll catch up with organizers of this year’s Arizona Matsuri which is going virtual.

Welcome to the Season 5 opener of “Word” and the launch of KJZZ’s third-annual Haiku Writing Contest. This year’s theme: What's new for you during the pandemic?

Welcome to the final episode of “Word” for this season. As we close out the 2020, we’re exploring nonfiction, something we don’t often discuss as a literary art form.

What do a retired veteran, a museum archivist and a technical writer have in common? They all finished the challenge of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and wrote at least a 50,000-word novel during November.

What do a tourism writer from Albuquerque, New Mexico; a Glendale life coach; and a burlesque performer and creative from the Valley have in common? They're all engaging in National Novel Writing Month.

It’s nearly Halloween and almost National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). As we close out October, we celebrate the holiday and those who are stepping up to write 50,000 words in a month beginning Nov. 1.

On this episode, we welcome Annika Clark, chosen by Creative Youth of Arizona as the Phoenix Youth Poet Laureate. Plus, we talk to poet and retired teacher Joey Connolly and Pueblo Indian writer and NYT bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse, who has a new fantasy novel called “Black Sun” out this month.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to present challenges for creatives. We’ll talk to a returning guest about it. Plus, we turn our attention to younger audiences and readers, beginning with puppets.

"Word" is a KJZZ original podcast about the literary arts in Arizona and the region. We begin this season with the first of three returning guests, David Hemphill, executive director of Black Theatre Troupe in Phoenix.

This episode contains some frank descriptions that may not be suitable for all listeners and political opinions that are not endorsed by KJZZ in any capacity.On this mega edition of “Word,” we put a cap on National Poetry Month in the state and the region. We open with a poem by Colleen Carnahan, "Phoenix Rising."

National Poetry Month continues in the age of COVID-19. In this episode, we are heading to Tucson, virtually, to check in with our neighbors in Southern Arizona. Despite the shuttering of spoken word venues, poets are still sounding their barbaric yawps via social media and creative apps.

KJZZ's second annual Haiku Writing Contest comes to an end as we round out NaHaiWriMo (National Haiku Writing Month).

We celebrate International Women’s HERstory Month with some influential Arizona writers and readers.

While we hunker down amid a pandemic, creatives are facing tough times, too. Performances have been canceled. Open mics have been shut down. But we carry on with trying to stay in touch.

It’s National Poetry Month. And even as the coronavirus pandemic continues to shutter brick and mortar performance spaces, poets conquer with technology to stay in contact with audiences and promote their writing.

We continue National Haiku Writing Month by talking to three poets with connections to Arizona and the Southwest.

KJZZ's second annual Haiku Writing Contest launches this month as we celebrate NaHaiWriMo (National Haiku Writing Month). We're teaming up with The Show again for the contest and offering some spirited discussions about haiku on episodes of Word this month.

In this season two finale, we explore the spookier side of Christmas with a look at the tradition of telling ghost stories during the holiday season.We talk to Dr. Seth Lerer about one of the most beloved Christmas goblins, the Grinch, and the darker side of the character and its creator, Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss.Plus, writer and creative writing professor Dr. Colin Dickey joins us to discuss the tradition of telling ghost stories during Christmas, a subject he...

On this National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) retrospective and seventh episode of Season 2, we get back on the mic with some guests who joined us previously to discuss their hard work.Included in this episode are Laura MacKenzie, Theresa Munroe, Sonja Moman, and a new guest, Ann Peterson, who channeled her love of poetry in writing fiction.