Gary Every and Anya Blue Lior, a 16-year-old sophomore at Verde Valley School, will soon be named the city of Sedona’s two keepers of the written word when they will be appointed to two-year terms as Sedona poet laureate and youth poet laureate, respectively, during the Sedona City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 13.

“I was so pleased with the response we received for this pilot program,” city of Sedona Arts and Culture Specialist Nancy Lattanzi said. “The seven finalists were diverse and talented and each did a wonderful job sharing their individuality with passion. I was moved at how supportive they were for each other. My hopes are that these relationships flourish and they continue to share their voices. I am looking forward to City Council appointing our 2025 Sedona Poet Laureates and look forward to their new roles elevating the literary arts in our community.”

The decision was made on the evening of Monday, April 28, following four scored poetry readings that concluded on April 28 at Tlaquepaque. Every competed against finalists Martha Entin, Clint Frakes, Camille LeFevre, and Teressa “Tee” Pace, with Lior and Felicia Elisabeth Grace Foldes reading for the youth position.

The selection committee included poet Rex Arrasmith, Sedona City Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella, former councilwoman Jessica Williamson, city Finance Director Barbara Whitehorn, Arts & Culture Coordinator Nancy Lattanzi, Community Library Sedona Executive Director Judy Poe and Sedona Poetry Slam host and Sedona Red Rock News Managing Editor Christopher Fox Graham, who hosted three of the four events.

Graham opened the April 28 session with a reading of his poem “Spinal Language.”

“What poetry comes down to is we all know that our time is limited, and so we’re trying to get as much of our work out there as we can before we’re dust,” Graham said.

Gary Every

“Every scored the most points consecutively [across] all performances,” Lattanzi said. “His measured delivery and compelling content stood out. Even though it was not a requirement, it was impressive that he memorized all his work and he is very comfortable on stage. His scope of work ranged from prehistoric times to current day. Each poem was compassionately delivered and relatable.”

Every moved to Sedona in 2004 after years in Tucson and said he found the red rocks alive with poetry and frequent literary events. Over time, that creative scene diminished, but he hopes to play a role in bringing it back to life as poet laureate.

“I’ve been writing science fiction poetry for a long time. But there was a period when the webzines started, and all of a sudden, there were a whole bunch of science fiction markets that were desperate for poetry, and they all paid something, and they’re just so much fun to write,” Every said before his final reading. “I’ve been nominated for the Rhysling Award for science fiction seven times now.” His final poem was “Sekhmet The Destroyer” involving Egyptian mythology.

Every added that he sees poetry as an act of destruction that challenges civilization itself.

“Destructing some of our sacred cows, or lampooning our rituals and our civilization, I see that that’s one of the things that poetry does,” Every said. “It’s why, at least, I often find my own poems funny, because I’m kind of lampooning myself and society at large.”

At the same time, Every said poetry is also an act of creation, offering insight and connection.

“Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis said, ‘Hard times are not the blues — spirit overcoming hard time is. That’s the blues we dance to.’ I think poetry does that too,” Every commented. “At graduations, weddings, funerals, even government events, we often hear snippets of poetry because it speaks to what matters.”

That purpose ties directly into the role poets will play in the program as part of the duties of the poet laureate are to perform at large community events.

“Joseph Campbell, the mythologist, said that religion is trying to deal with two things,” Every added. “One is deal with death and two is how we can place our ephemeral lives in a larger context that we’re adding up to a greater good. And poetry being almost a form of mythology speaks to that.”

“Sakhmet the Destroyer” by Gary Every    

While walking through the museum,

traversing an exhibit of Egyptology.

My stepdaughter stares,

peering past freckles and eyeglasses

at the giant statue of a lioness with a human body.

According to Egyptian legend,

Sakhmet the Destroyer was vengeful.

She was tricked while drunk

on sweet red pomegranate wine

and she became angry; very very angry.

She needed to be consoled

in order to be convinced

to spare life,

all life,

so the world could continue turning.

My stepdaughter tugs on my hand

and I lower my head.

She whispers in my ear

“Usually those kinds of statues

are always boys.”

She stares in awe.

Later, on an over extended credit card

we buy an overpriced gift shop statue

a miniature replica of Sakhmet the Destroyer.

during the drive home

the sun sets on the horizon,

the clouds fill with glorious colors.

We will not drive in darkness tonight

for tonight the moon shines bright,

lighting the way.

Samantha sits inside her seat belt,

cuddling her Sakhmet statue.

Someday soon, she will grow into a woman

and when she does I want her to be a lioness.

Because, someday I will dissolve into nothing

like a raindrop falling in the ocean

and when I do

I want sweet little Samantha

to be able to destroy the entire universe

and every one in it, including you –

if she has to.

Anya Blue Lior

“[Lior’s] poems ranged from the standard way she was taught to write poems in high school English class to exploring writing in her own style,” Lattanzi said. “She is passionate about her poetry and what she believes in. Even though she is strong in her convictions, her vulnerability sharing her personal experiences was very palpable.”

Lior attributed her interest in poetry to her VVS English teacher, Sylvia Mann, who also convinced her to apply for the youth poet laureate position.

“[Lior] won the English honors award in the ninth grade, a well-deserved recognition, and she is a fantastic writer of poetry and prose,” Mann said. “She possesses a strong voice and a unique perspective, and demonstrates active leadership both on the student council and in the classroom at VVS. Her passion for teaching and community engagement, combined with her outstanding writing skills, make her well prepared for the role of Sedona’s [Youth] Poet Laureate.”

The last poem Lior performed was “Java Love,” a work she wrote about the coffee shop of the same name, owned by her parents, Megan and Dotan Lior, and the memories she associated with the establishment, which operated from 2012 to 2017.

“Java Love, the coffee tsunami that swallowed my life whole in all the best and worst ways,” Lior wrote. “Couches that the customers enjoyed with their morning coffees transforming into beds for me and my sister.”

Lior said bringing poetry events to the community was what excited her the most about her new position.

“I’m just very, very honored to have this position and be able to give back to Sedona,” Lior said.

“Anya is a total powerhouse,” VVS Head of School Ben Lee said. “Academically, she’s outstanding, socially connected and conscious, deeply invested in our little community and just delightful as a person. Wise beyond her years, she has a maturity and grace that is evident in her poetry as well as her everyday service to our school and her fellow students.”

The next local poetry event will be the Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, May 3, at 7:30 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.

“Java Love” by Anya Blue Lior

Java Love.
A small coffee shop in a small town,
Nestled between the Harkins and Wells Fargo,
And hidden away from the tourists.
A place where weirdos and freaks were welcomed
With open arms, a smile, and a glass of Green Magic.
A coffee shop that was picky with its family,
Filtering through three owners in four years,
Before eventually falling into the unprepared hands of my parents.
Java Love.
The coffee tsunami that swallowed my life whole
In all the best and worst ways.
Couches that the customers enjoyed with their morning coffees
Transforming into beds for me and my sister
Because my parents didn’t have time to drive us back to our house.
A small office that became our home,
A home that was a mix of air mattresses
Takeout containers
And baths in the sink.
Java Love.
A home.
For me, my family, and all the people in Sedona who needed a place
to belong.
Customers who became my family,
Their love burning itself into my memory forever.
The man named Red Heart who handbuilt a tiny bench for me on the patio.
A bench that is still there, paint chipping and wood cracking,
On the patio of what is now a flooring shop.
The walls that my parents spent ours painting
A kaleidoscope of turquoises and oranges
Unique to our little corner of the world.
Walls that the new owners never repainted,
And sometimes while driving down 89A
I can still catch glimpses
Of the colors of my childhood.
Java Love.
The business that taught me basic math
Through helping my dad count coins in the cash register
Late into the night.
The business that showed me how to make a profit
Through selling stickers to the regulars for a dollar a piece
And listening to my dad explain why we had to keep raising our prices.
The business that slapped me in the face
With the knowledge that sometimes
No matter how hard you try
Or how many sleepless nights you spend working
Sometimes things are incapable of growing.
Java Love.
The name that I no longer hear,
The name that shall not be spoken.
Now when I am stopped in grocery stores
I hear
“I knew your parents. I loved your coffee shop.
I miss it so much”
But they didn’t see the air mattresses that always popped
The bathtub that didn’t run
The days waking up without my parents
Because they had been in the shop all through the night.
No one else saw the late nights and early mornings
Or the unpaid bills slowly piling up
Swallowing our business whole.
No one else saw the cold, dark, empty house
We had to move back to
After the rug of our life was ripped out from under us.