The 14th Annual Tucson Poetry Festival kicks off tonight at the Temple of Music and Art, 330 South Scott Ave., with a poetry reading by Benjamin Sa'enz and Frank Bidart.

Activities tomorrow and Sunday begin at 9 a.m. with interactive lectures from the festival's featured poets for $5 per session, followed by a half-hour book signing.

Open microphone readings will be held tomorrow and Sunday beginning at 11 a.m. There is a $5 participation fee.

Alison Deming, director of the UA Poetry Center, will read excerpts about the Monarch butterfly from her book, "Science and other Poems," at tomorrow's poetry readings, starting at 8 p.m. She will lead a small-group discussion Sunday at 9 a.m.

Advanced admission is $5 a day and $10 for a weekend pass. Tickets are available at Bentley's House of Coffee and Tea, The Bookstop, and Antigone's Books.

Admission at the door is $7 a day and $13 for the weekend pass. For additional information on the Poetry Festival's activities call 623-7277.