Today on 30 Minutes we’ll hear two local authors from a reading they did in July 2017 at the Oro Valley Library in support of Brian Smith’s Spent Saints. In the first portion of the program,  we’ll hear from Mari Herreras, a former Tucson Weekly managing editor, fifth generation Tucsonan, mother, story lover, music lover and pet owner. She now manages the YWCA Arizona Standing Together Arizona Training and Advocacy Center. Maggie Harstad introduce both authors.

In the second portion of the show, Brian Smith read a selection from Spent Saints. Brian Smith is a veteran of alt weeklies such as the Phoenix New Times and Detroit’s Metro Times. Before writing full time, Smith was a songwriter who fronted rock & roll bands. At one point he overcame heady crystal meth and alcohol addictions. As a kid growing up in Tucson, Smith was a national class bicycle racer. He now lives back in Tucson and his debut collection of stories came out in March 2017. The linked narratives have been described as disturbing and raw, yet offering eerily beautiful portrayals of loss, ultimately reclamation, and perhaps, redemption. Brian Smith is currently the Arts and Entertainment Editor for the Tucson Weekly.

We ended the program with local artist Billy Sedlmayr’s Black Grenadine.

Recorded and produced by Amanda Shauge