Thoughts & Poems: The Legacy of Ofelia Zepeda and Sun Tracks on Arizona Literature

Though we tend to credit authors for their work, literature is a collective production - involving teams of people all working to review, edit, publish, promote, and critique expressions of literature.  This presentation recounts the historical emergence of two entities responsible for transforming Arizona - and national - literature: Tohono O'odham poet, linguist, and editor Ofelia Zepeda and the Sun Tracks Publishing Series.  Together, Zepeda and Sun Tracks augmented literary opportunity and visibility for Indigenous authors, poets, and critics over the latter quarter of the 20th century.  The presentation culminates in a free-writing exercise, emphasizing recognition of communal projects and thinking.