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The Sacred Tortilla with Laura Tohe

Facilitated by the Poet Laureate of Arizona

Join us for the powerful writing workshop!

The Sacred Tortilla: Making bread is a universal practice for many cultures. It can be a shared activity that brings families together or can be a solo adventure.  This workshop explores the memories we hold of making bread or watching it being made.  Who was the bread maker in your family and what do you remember most about the process of breadmaking?  What are the sounds, sights, and tactile memories you have?  We will explore what role bread and breadmaking play in your family, culture, and community to generate a poem.  Making a food item can be substituted in lieu of bread.

Laura Tohe is Diné and is Sleepy Rock People clan and born for the Bitter Water People clan. She is an award-winning poet, librettist, the Arizona Poet Laureate, and the former Navajo Nation Poet Laureate. Her works include three books of poetry, an anthology of Native women’s writing, and an oral bilingual history on the Navajo Code Talkers. Her commissioned librettos are performed in Arizona, Utah, and France. Among her awards are the 2025 Native Writers Circle of the Americas Lifetime Achievement Award, Guest Editor for the Academy of American Poetry Poem-a- Day program, an Academy of American Poetry Fellowship, and three times nominated for the Pushcart award. Her work is published nationally and internationally. Her poems have been translated into music for piano, guitar, and trumpet. She is Professor Emerita with Distinction from Arizona State University and serves on the Board of Indigenous Nations Poets.

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