Country music in the West and poetry reverberate the sounds of spring in this episode of Word, a podcast about literature in Arizona and the region.

A Valley resident turns experience as a former prison inmate into a graphic novel, an addiction to an anti-anxiety drug leads to a debut mystery, the KJZZ Annual Haiku Writing Contest keeps on chugging and Arizona Matsuri returns to Phoenix, in person.

Coming up on this Season 8-ender of Word, we go on a show bender with highlights spanning the entire run-of-show from where it started on the island of Guam in 2016 until now.

On this episode of KJZZ's Word, the application window for the National Endowment for the Arts' Big Read grants is open. 

Plus, National Novel Writing Month, known as NaNoWriMo, is winding down and writers are feverishly trying to finish 50,000 words by Nov. 30.

Finally, music icon and one of Arizona’s beloved daughters, Linda Ronstadt, has a new memoir.

What do outlaws, dysfunctional family outings and a Scottish bookstore have in common? Find out on this episode of Word. It's a KJZZ podcasted hosted by Tom Maxedon.

What do vampires, poetry and Agatha Christie have in common? Find out in this episode of Word, a podcast hosted by KJZZ's Tom Maxedon about literature in Arizona and the region.

What do a middle-grade novelist, thriller enthusiast and swingers have in common? It’s all fodder for the season ender of Word, a podcast about literature in Arizona and the region hosted by KJZZ’s Tom Maxedon.

What do a children's author with a new release, an action-adventure writer who pivoted during the pandemic to ghostwriting and a librarian have in common?

Word returns from spring break with new conversations about kid lit, Valley poets preparing to go geopolitical vs. Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine during National Poetry Month and the upcoming Tucson Poetry Festival.

What do a Scottsdale memoirist, a Tucson coffee shop/bookstore owner — who's also a haiku enthusiast as well as a crime writer — and a Tucson Festival of Books panelist have in common? They’re all part of this episode of KJZZ’s Word. It’s a podcast about literature in Arizona and the region hosted by Tom Maxedon.

What do a former hotshot from Arizona, a Valley poet with a new collection about addiction as well as a planetary scientist and creative writer from Tucson have in common? They comprise our season-ending episode of "Word." It’s a podcast about literature in Arizona and the region.

Explore the human condition in the past, present and future with a historical fiction writer, a Phoenix poet and a Valley gaming enthusiast.

On this first October offering of “Word,” wanderlust is our theme. We explore what Valley teacher and writer Marla-Tiye Vieira; southern New Mexico scholar, fiction writer and poet Ana Castillo; as well as longtime producer of Anthony Bourdain’s TV shows, Tom Vitale, have to contribute to our itinerary.

In this Season 6 opener of "Word," we run the gamut from dealing with post-traumatic stress as a veteran and personal migration stories by Black people living in Arizona to a romantic comedy based in Phoenix that deals with the opioid crisis.

What do indigenous futurism, young adult fantasy literature and climate have in common? Find out on "Word"  — a KJZZ podcast about the literary arts in Arizona and the region hosted by Tom Maxedon.

National Poetry Month continues and after a virtual trip to Tucson last episode, we come back to the “Valley of the Poet” and explore some intriguing questions.

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.

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? 

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.

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.

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.

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."

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

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

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 explored extensively for Smithsonian.

And for our pièce de résistance: Krampus!

We continue our focus on National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in this sixth episode of Season 2 as we catch up with three writers and their stories in medias res.

Guests include Michelle Rabe, Laura MacKenzie and Valley teacher Sonja Momon, who incorporates NaNo into her classroom in a unique way and is going rogue this month for what might be called NaNoMyMo.

In this fourth episode of Season 2, we celebrate Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac who died 50 years ago this month and whose legendary novel, “On the Road,” which encapsulated the Beat Generation was published 62 years ago in September.

We feature a performance of his with Steve Allen in 1959 and a bit of humor about Beat culture from Del Close and John Brent as well as an episode of "Mr. Know It All," from "The Bullwinkle Show" that takes a funny angle on "How To Be A Beatnik."

Word is a KJZZ podcast about the literary arts in Arizona and the region.

In this second episode of Season 2, we explore children's and young adult literature in Arizona.

First, we talk to fellow podcaster Pamela Rogers, creator and host of "Buttons & Figs," a show that uses "nonsense" to make sense. Pamela is a descendant of E. Lowell Rogers who has an amphitheater named after him in Glendale. She just moved back to the Phoenix metro area two years ago.

We also take a trip to Childsplay to talk to Dwayne Hartford, artistic director and creator of the stage adaptation of "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" playing at Herberger Theater until Oct. 13, 2019. The play is based on the book of the same name and written by Kate DiCamillo. 

Plus, budding young writers from the Valley get the skinny on how Arizona authors get inspired to write and bring their works to market. We feature interviews with authors Ginger Scott, Jeff Mariotte, Sharon Skinner as well as Kyrene Middle School literature teacher and writer Deb Rosenblum. She spearheaded the Student Writing Conference which took place Sept. 7, 2019.

In October, we're focusing on literature about the road and also on the spooky season. If you have ideas on who we should talk to or a contribution of your own, reach out to [email protected].

To hear more, visit word.kjzz.org.

May 29, 2019: Arizona StoryFest is back on June 1. Plus, Cynnita Agent, co-star of "Single Black Female," and David Hemphill, stage director.

April 24, 2019: Tom returns to the Valley to talk to Sally Ball, associate professor of English at ASU, and student poet and activist Austin Davis.

March 1, 2019: Tucson Poet Laureate TC Tolbert and the Downtown Tucson Partnership put haiku in public spaces throughout the city.

Feb. 15, 2019: A preview of the upcoming Arizona Matsuri Festival of Japan with John Sachen.