In downtown Tucson, a unique form of exploration awaits those armed with purple parasols and paper maps. This adventure, however, doesn’t involve traditional hiking trails but instead invites participants to pause at street corners to admire poetry-infused planters.
The Haiku Hike features 20 poems printed on acrylic signs in planters throughout Downtown Tucson.
Logan Burtch-Buus/University Communications
On March 21, around 100 participants gathered for the opening tour of the seventh annual Haiku Hike, an engaging outdoor art installation organized by the University of Arizona Poetry Center in collaboration with the Downtown Tucson Partnership.
This event stretches from Hotel Congress down East Congress Street to North Stone Avenue, showcasing 20 haikus crafted by local poets. These poems, chosen from over 1,600 submissions, are displayed on acrylic signs nestled in planters filled with native plants. The hike remains accessible to the public until June 1.
Haiku, a form of Japanese poetry, follows a 17-syllable structure with lines of five, seven, and five syllables, often capturing vivid imagery and seasonal themes.
Paola Valenzuela, event and development coordinator for the Poetry Center, judged this year’s entries. She evaluated the poems based on their writing quality and thematic engagement, exploring concepts like romance, environment, and family within the haiku’s concise structure.
“I was surprised by all the connections people wrote about: With the moon, with nature, with the celestial – but also the simple connections in life that you may not always think about, like catching a stranger’s eye in the park or playing Roblox with your cousins,” Valenzuela remarked. “That’s the thing about haiku; you can appreciate the little things in life. I hope the hike allows people to take a moment to think about and reflect on their own connections with people and the world.”
Concrete Connections
Leading the poetic procession through downtown Tucson, Valenzuela, accompanied by Tyler Meier, executive director of the Poetry Center, shared haikus with participants eager to read or listen. At each stop, either the poet or an enthusiastic hiker recited the selected haiku.
“Having people opt in and want to be a part of this event is one of my favorite things about this community,” Meier noted. “The cultural life of Tucson is so rich, and the university is a big part of that. We’re just so pleased to have this connection to our community.”
Veronica Contreras, a Tucson native, read her poem dedicated to her late brother:
Fonzo Conteras
walked in black boots of leather
in the hot desert
“I love this city and I think it’s a beautiful place,” Contreras shared. “I have always loved writing, and I will take any chance I can to contribute to Tucson’s artistic side. My brother is my legend, and the fact that I can give something back to these streets that has his name on it – I just had to try.”
Winning poet Marian Araujo, back left, poses with her family next to the planter that holds her poem.
Logan Burtch-Buus/University Communications
From Albuquerque, poet Dara Yen Elerath joined the Haiku Hike, marking her first experience with such an event. “It’s not something I have ever experienced before,” she explained. “I have published poetry, but this was a really unique opportunity.”
Her contribution blends emotive imagery with nature:
Touching the pale scars
across her now empty chest
snow on rose petals
This year’s Haiku Hike showcases poems that traverse emotional landscapes, highlighting shared human experiences. Crystal Moore, president and CEO of Downtown Tucson Partnership, emphasized the installation’s spirit of discovery.
“The Haiku Hike welcomes people to experience Tucson’s urban center in a completely different way,” Moore said. “It changes downtown Tucson’s everyday spaces into places of creativity and thoughtfulness. It encourages people to walk the urban trail and engage with our city through poetry, providing a genuine sense of discovery.”
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