The city of Tucson, in partnership with the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona and the University of Arizona Poetry Center, has appointed Logan Phillips as the city’s 2026-2029 poet laureate.
The three-year honorary position includes a $15,000 honorarium and recognizes Phillips’ literary achievements and community engagement.
“It’s an incredible honor,” Phillips said. “I’m so thrilled and humbled to be seen in this way, not only in recognition of the work that I’ve been able to contribute over the last couple decades, but also as an invitation to work harder and deepen the impact of the things that I’m already doing and would like to do.”
A Tucson-based poet, educator and cultural worker, Phillips frames poetry as a tool for building connection and resilience amid social and environmental challenges. He said poetry has been a constant throughout his life.
“I was always a kid who spent a lot of time daydreaming, reading books and writing,” Phillips said. “I spent my teenage years writing poetry and was lucky to find communities. I was encouraged to stick with it and have never stopped.”
Phillips is the author of books including “Sonoran Strange” and “RECKON.” In developing “RECKON,” he began with poems exploring the “language of the West” and the mythologized stories of Tombstone, Arizona.
“I ended up doing a lot of research into my family’s archives and into the historical archives,” Phillips said. “I spent a lot of time investigating how those two things are linked.”
The book reflects on his upbringing in Tombstone in the 1980s and 1990s, more than a century after the town’s most famous gunfight, which continues to be reenacted.
“We disentangle ourselves from the myths that we were raised around, so that’s the focus of that book,” Phillips said. “(The) book (has been) the thing that’s been the hardest to write, but also the most rewarding to write.”
In addition to his literary work, Phillips has taught at multiple educational levels and toured as a bilingual performer and DJ. Performing under the name “DJ Dirtyverbs,” he has played cumbia and world music sets in venues including house parties and mezcalería-style spaces in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Phillips is also the co-founder and former co-director of Spoken Futures Inc. and the Tucson Youth Poetry Slam. He said expanding access to the arts is central to his work.
“I believe it is the work of all of us to provide young people in our communities access to the tools that they need to follow their interests and dreams,” he said. “Especially making sure they have access to things we didn’t have at their age.”
As poet laureate, Phillips has proposed the ¡Somos Uno! Poetry & Storytelling Series, a multilingual program of open mics and writing workshops planned for small businesses, libraries and other community spaces across Tucson.
The series aligns with the city’s ¡Somos Uno! cultural heritage strategy, a 2023 initiative led by the Office of Mayor Regina Romero and the Office of the City Manager to preserve and promote Tucson’s cultural identity.
“These events are going to be intercultural, intergenerational and meant to bring together poets of distinct literary tendencies,” Phillips said.
Phillips’ duties as poet laureate include leading a community poetry project, composing a commemorative poem inspired by Tucson, participating in civic events, supporting cultural initiatives and documenting public programming.
He was selected by a seven-member panel of literary community representatives based on his artistic accomplishments, leadership and community involvement.
“While I’m deeply grateful for this recognition, I’m even more so looking forward to serving the community in tangible, meaningful ways during my term,” Phillips said. “I’ll be working to create events across the city that bring people together across cultures, generations and literary traditions.”