The poet Ai taught at Oklahoma State University from 1996 until 2010 when she passed away. In her final interview that appeared in the Cimarron Review (issue 173) with Janet Varnum, she said: “One thing I wanted which I really don’t have enough enough money to do is donate money to the foundation to try and get a reading series endowed for the English Department.” Where her dream never made it into reality, this reading series serves to honor her memory by bringing poets to read in Stillwater.