Because there is still so much happening on the poetry scene here, here’s a pre-election installment of the collective calendar to carry us through. More in less than two weeks. Watch this space.
Calendar of Readings & Events
Ends Sunday Oct 27. I just heard that lille aeske, the arts venue in Boulder Creek, has produced a Haunted Arthouse, on view until tomorrow evening. According to their description, the Arthouse includes: Dark Artwork, Perilous Poetry, and a Haunted Maze. Sounds inspiringly spooky. (Sign up for their newsletter; I hear they have some exciting poetry events on tap in 2025!)
Friday Nov 1, 7pm Satori Open Mic featuring Elbina Batala Rafizadeh. Open mic follows. Satori—an artist space, 815 Almar Ave. Unit 9, Santa Cruz. More info and signup here.
Sunday Nov 3, 1:30-3:30 Poetry & Music in the Parks at Brommer Park. Final event of the 2024 season! Bring a picnic/snacks and lawn chair. Poets Rachelle Escamilla (Monterey County Poet Laureate), Mukethe Kawinzi, and Arthur Solway. Music by The Untangled Band. More information about the artists here.
Thursday Nov 7, 6pm Morton Marcus Poetry Reading featuring Ellen Bass. Merrill Cultural Center at UCSC. Free, $5 parking. The winning poem & poet of this year’s Morton Marcus Poetry Prize will also be announced. Register here to secure your spot. Whatever happens two days before this event, I’m certain this will be a valuable and memorable evening.
Tuesday Nov 12, 7pm Hive Live! with Gary Young & Elizabeth Robinson. Celebrate beloved poet, artist and director of the UCSC Cowell Press, Gary Young’s newest book of poems, joined by esteemed San Francisco poet Elizabeth Robinson. Co-sponsored by The Humanities Institute. At Bookshop Santa Cruz. More information here and registration link here.
Every Monday: Santa Cruz Poetry Project welcomes anyone who would like to establish a writing practice in a safe and encouraging environment. No registration required. Takes place every Monday, 4:00 – 5:30 PM at the Life Literacies Center, Downtown Santa Cruz Library, 224 Church St. Free.
Apply to be our next Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate
One last reminder! The application period for the 2025-2026 Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate is open through October 30, 2024. Information about the process and how to apply can be found here.
Our California Project Reminder
Many Santa Cruz County poets have already submitted their poems to our California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick’s project, Our California. Join this rich feast of poems and submit yours. All Californians are invited to write a poem about their city, town, or state, exploring what they love about it, what joy they find in it, what they would change about it, or what they hope for. All information here.
New Book Alert
Local Poet Dane Cervine has just released a new book of poems. Deep Travel – At Home In The [Burning] World is a book of contemporary haibun. Underlying this series of journeys—through the great Midwest of America, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, a bit of French countryside, Italy, then later through New England—is an experience of pilgrimage. The Japanese poet Basho’s famous book Narrow Road to the Interior explored both “interiors”: of countryside and heart-mind. Ancient Zen poets grounded their work in Nature itself, the passing seasons infiltrating words with blossom and decay. Today, climate change appears as the ubiquitous background in many travels. In Deep Travel, this includes a cataclysmic fire in California at the author’s ancestral home, unfolding at the end of his journey in drought-stricken Turin, Italy. The quest: to find a sense of home in this fragile, yet resilient, world.
Find out more about the book and how to buy it here.