Tag archives: Poetry
A boxer’s nose and a walk made for troubleIn his movies he’d outlast his body doublesAs he did one day with me in the gymDoing squats with no rest, just no catching him You showed me Chavela Vargas and the early Gypsy KingsCarlos Monzon was your man in the Ring.Meanness and strength can surely be […]
For more than a century, Fiesta, the celebration of Old Spanish Days in Santa Barbara, has drawn hundreds of thousands of celebrants. Fiesta’s seemingly nonstop high-energy events range from almost endless Flamenco dancing and mariachi music, to performances, parades, and a partying plethora that spills from a besotted State Street into surrounding neighborhoods. The traditional […]
After a hiatus of a few years, the Montecito Poetry Club returned to the Montecito Library last month. Kicking off in 2014, and led by poetry lover and devoted library volunteer, Carole Baral, the Montecito Poetry Club was a beloved program that met each month in the Montecito Community Hall. The concept was simple. Each […]
Paul Willis, English professor emeritus and former poet laureate of Santa Barbara, hosts the 17th annual William Stafford Reading on Saturday, January 31, at 2 pm at the First Crossing Day Use Area in Los Padres National Forest, across from the old Los Prietos Boys Camp, 3900 Paradise Road. This is the former site of […]
“One of the first things I look at is what’s the essence of the tree that I’m working on? On a Japanese maple, for instance, in the wintertime it’s about the winter silhouette. In Japan they say when the tree goes dormant and loses its leaves, the tree is bearing its soul. Then when the […]
An inky, purple night, the depths A mystery, you and me,The things about yourself that you wanted me to see. The sweetness of your voiceThe raven darkness of your hairWhen I knocked so gently on your doorI wanted you to take me there. Open those shutters way, way back Show those vast Park City skiesThe scents of pine […]
If you’ve ever been to a bakery First thing in the morningThe scents are so seductiveWith an endless line now forming. After forty full daysof fasting in the desert The first thing the fiend said –If thou truly be the Son of GodCommand these stonesbe made bread. When Odysseus’ menate the Sun God’s cattleThey were starving at […]
There are two famous poems which have one thing in common. What they have in common, however, might be considered by some critics a shortcoming. It is the literary practice of anthropomorphism. In case you need an explanation, that word describes any poetic attempt to endow non-human objects or creatures with human characteristics. For example, […]
Black History Month is dedicated to African Americans and the Arts. In Week Two we give it up for the young Obsidian Scholars at the Gateway Educational Services Goleta, who presented their original poetry in fond memory of Santa Barbara poet laureate, activist, and local institution Sojourner Kincaid Rolle. The event was held at Soul […]
The Mission Poetry Series closes out its current season, which was curated by 2022-23 Santa Barbara Poet Laureate Emma Trelles, with an event simply titled “Three Poets in Spring.” The free event offers readings and a meet and greet with the poets Catherine Esposito Prescott, Gabriel Ibarra, and Florencia Milito at 1 pm on Saturday, […]
If I had to pick a favorite park in the world, it would have to be the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. Not just for its rolling green lawns, ornamental fountains, and sycamore-lined promenades, but for its marvelous statues and busts. Instead of honoring the typical senators and soldiers, the Jardin du Luxembourg also features memorials […]
Each year, Santa Barbara Public Library chooses a social topic of interest or challenge that the community is facing and develops a series of programs to explore potential solutions. Through selected readings, presentations, and community engagement, the library hopes to inspire action in the community to improve lives and invest in a more sustainable future. […]
Life may imitate art but for many of the artists I know, the two are pretty melded and hardly an imitation – they are their art, and the art is them – and this seems true for Susan Read Cronin and her collective body of work as well, including her newest book of poetry, What’s […]
Children between the ages of three and five (and their grownups) are invited to the Montecito Library for a weekly Preschool Storytime starting in February. We will be meeting every Thursday from 10-10:30 am. Come by to meet new friends, read stories, sing songs, and make crafts. This is a great opportunity to introduce little […]
As we welcome the start of a new year, we would like to share some pictures from the Montecito Library from the past year. We are notoriously bad at asking for people to pose (privacy is bedrock for library folks), but are trying to make more of an effort to document some of the joy […]
The Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday is still a month away, but the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara is already ramping up for its annual Holiday Celebration of the famed civil rights leader. That’s because the 2023 event – the organization’s 16th, which takes place on January 16 – will mark […]
Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s Parallel Stories investigates the concept that while something gets lost in translation, maybe also there’s something to be gained in the process, at least in relation to poetry, serving to build bridges across borders and between cultures via introducing new syntactic strategies, rhythms, and image repertoires. Poet, translator, and literary […]
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Santa Barbara Committee (MLKSB) presents its all-new virtual celebratory program during this Juneteenth weekend, June 17 through June 20. This year’s theme is based on Dr. King’s words from Birmingham, Alabama on April 14, 1963: “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of […]
Two Westmont students won David K. Winter Servant Leadership Awards for showing vision, courage, humility, integrity, and competence as leaders. Angela D’Amour, dean of student engagement, introduced the 22nd annual awardees, Ebun Kalejaiye (’23) of Rancho Palos Verdes and Eden Lawson (’24) of Redlands, on April 1 in chapel. Kalejaiye serves as co-leader of the […]
This week, Chaucer’s Books’ event schedule includes a rare paid event, an outdoor one at that, featuring Max Brallier, the multiple New York Times bestselling author and Netflix series creator. Ever so clever, Chaucer’s is calling the event “Last Kids on Earth, Day” in honor, not only of Brallier’s epic, eight-book adventure series that was […]
