Click here to join the conversation, airing tonight at 6:30 PM PDT.

In the most challenging situations, poetry plays a special role, helping us name our deepest feelings. What is it about poetry that allows us to escape our greatest anxieties, find space for introspection, or even achieve catharsis? What is it about the poetic combination of meter, rhyme, and carefully chosen words that hits us so hard in hard times? Why, when faced with uniquely modern problems and pandemics, do we reach for this oldest of art forms? Former United States Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, poet and author Inez Tan, and Arizona Poet Laureate Alberto Ríos visit Zócalo to consider how reading and writing poetry can save us when all seems lost. “What Can Poetry Offer Us In Distressing Times?,” streaming live at 6:30 PDT will be moderated by Los Angeles Times’ Carla Hall.

Want more Zócalo? Get to know our panelists in advance of tonight’s event by stopping by our virtual green room:

• Alberto Ríos called in to chat about the satisfying slowness of Swedish detective fiction and the scariest advice he’s ever received.

• Inez Tan called in to chat about her secret foosball skills, and why she writes for her younger self.

• Carla Hall called in to chat about why you shouldn’t worry about being someone’s second choice, and the poem she has inscribed on her ring.

• Juan Felipe Herrera called in to chat about what’s on his personal time travel itinerary and using his full voice.