Verses in the Village

On Thursday June 18th from 5pm to 630 pm Verses in the Village will host a poetry reading featuring Flagslam poet Lydia Gates, hometown hero Tee Pace, and Tianna Hood daughter of the Yavapai and Navajo. Set in the beautiful Patio Las Campanas amidst the sculptures, arches, fountains and flowers of Tlaquepaque, the Verses in Village has become the place for some of the best wordsmiths in Arizona to strut their stuff. The cool of the evening and onset of twilight seems to lend itself to poignant poetry and three of the strongest and smartest feminine voices around will entertain the audience.
Lydia Gates is a queer autistic slam poet and crochet artist who lives Flagstaff, Arizona with her partners and their adorable feline monster children. She is the managing organizer of FlagSlam, a poetry slam in Northern Arizona that was established in 2000. She has competed on slam teams at various national and regional poetry festivals from 2017-2025. She was the 8th ranked poet at the 2025 Blackberry Peach individual national poetry slam and the winner of their inaugural "Form Slam." She is also the 2024 and 2026 Northern Arizona Book Festival Haiku Deathmatch champion.
Tee Pace is a poet and educator living in Sedona. She enjoys making poetry accessible through her performances and by teaching with the Artist in the Classroom program, where she visits local schools. Tee is working on a hybrid memoir about queerness, self-love, and starting over. Her poems and photos can be found online at The Write Launch, Half and One, and Rough Cut Press.
Tiana Hood introduces herself, “Mahm geh gah, I am Tiana Hood, I’m from the Yavapaí and Díne tribe. I’ve illustrated multiple books for my nation as well as performed poetry for my Yavapai culture. Most of my work uses cultural references as well as nature inspired. I believe love and nurture can support a good foundation in any artistic sense. Hope you’ll enjoy my poetry.”
Verses in the Village shows open with poetry with Nicholas Honshin whose fine art gallery borders Patio Las Campanas. Honshin serves as sort of village elder, sharing his beautiful words of balance, nature and spirit. Sound is provided by former Dore Records artist Gary Scott. These events are hosted by Sedona’s inaugural Poet Laureate Gary Every. Every commented “I posted a photo of last month’s show on Facebook and people commented on how happy the audience looked. I take that as high praise that we are creating special moments that our important to our community.”
The Verses in the Village poetry readings have become wonderful evenings to gather in the cool of the sunset, amidst a beautiful setting, where people gather to greet old friends, make new friends, and listen to the words of some of the best emerging writers the region has to offer. Won’t you join us on Thursday, June 18th at 5pm at Patio Las Campanas in Tlaquepaque for what is quickly becoming one of the Verde Valley’s most popular events.