Local renaissance man and community leaders were given some of the highest honors at the Governor's Arts Awards Tuesday night.

Tucson's very own Daniel Buckley was awarded artist of the year. Buckley wrote September's unforgettable cover story Why Linda Ronstadt Still Matters to Tucson:

Daniel Buckley (Tucson) spent 22 years with the Tucson Citizen as a music and culture writer, on the editorial board and created its web-based multimedia division while building a reputation as an authority on classical and world music, mariachi, Native American music and southwestern cultural expressions. After the paper closed, he started a documentary film series, Cine Plaza, at the Fox Theatre, an oral history series focusing on the political and social evolution of Tucson’s Mexican-American population. A pioneer of performance art in Tucson, he currently is developing documentary works for the Arizona Historical Society and he is working on a new project of large-scale desert landscape photography.

The UA Poetry Center received the Community award:

University of Arizona Poetry Center (Tucson) is a significant national center for the appreciation and enjoyment of poetry and literature. Dedicated in 1960 by Robert Frost and located in one of three landmark buildings for poetry in the U.S., the Poetry Center’s world-renowned library of contemporary poetry and diversity of literary programs serve more than 30,000 people year. The Poetry Center also is a leader in developing poetry curricula in Arizona and provides online resources for teachers and parents. More than 1,000 poets and writers have been presented to southern Arizona audiences through the Poetry Center including the state’s new Poet Laureate, Alberto Rios.

All of us at the Weekly would like to congratulate Buckley and the folks at the UA Poetry Center for winning these prestigious awards. You all help keep Tucson artsy.