Poetry Connection Celebrates National Poetry Month

Your Guide to Celebrating 30 Days of the Joy, Expressiveness, and Pure Delight of Poetry

Santa Barbara Poet Laureate Melinda Palacio (in polka dots) with residents of Vista del Monte Senior Community, from left, ZellaMae Sandin, Anna deRoos, Janice Bicho, and Judy Garvins (with Dennis Naiman in the background) | Photo: Courtesy

Next week marks the beginning of National Poetry Month. For the past year, I’ve had the honor of serving as the City of Santa Barbara’s Poet Laureate. It’s been my pleasure to meet and connect with so many members of the community. I am also looking forward to fulfilling my second year. First, I want to thank all the readers of this column who have stopped to introduce themselves in real life. In February, I met over 60 students on Zoom from UCSB and over 30 from UC Davis, but my favorite is meeting people in person. While meeting various groups, from visits with senior living to college and high school students, one thing is certain: poetry matters and we need to continue to elevate and teach poetry.

Something I often say is that poetry reminds us of what’s important in life, especially who we are, our identity, and how we present ourselves to the world. Poetry is a form of writing from your heart, without holding back on truth or emotion. When we are suffering as a community, poetry offers consolation, a rallying cry to lift ourselves up. To an individual, poetry can be that friend you’ve always wanted or needed.

Join me in celebrating National Poetry Month by attending the many events celebrating poetry in Santa Barbara and beyond. Privately, you can read a favorite poem to a loved one or join the launch party for Poetry Passages, which brings poetry to local SBMTD buses. Look up during your bus ride and read a poem during the month of April. The launch party and First Thursday event will include readings of the poems by our local Poets Laureate, and each poem excerpt features a specific SBMTD route; plus, there will be giveaways and prizes.

Another special event that has been in the works for a couple of months is Poetry in the Parks, thanks to a grant that brings poetry to state parks. The Presidio is Santa Barbara’s state park, and we will have a day of poetry and music at the Alhecama Theatre on Saturday, April 20, featuring Poets Laureate Perie Longo, Emma Trelles, and myself, Melinda Palacio, plus local poets Stephanie Barbé Hammer, Monica Mody, and Takunda Chikowero, as well as the Chumash Singers, UCSB Middle East Ensemble, the Gruntled, and a few other surprises at this free event.

National Poetry Month Events

April 1, Spirits in the Air, 10^th Anniversary Reading 4:30-6:30 p.m. The Good Lion, 1212 State Street, free admission, no host bar.

April 4, First Thursday, launch party for Poetry Passages, 5-6:30 p.m. on the Terrace of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State Street.

April 8, Santa Barbara Literary Journal Volume 10: Reading at Chaucer’s Books, featuring seven local Poet Laureates, 6-7:45 p.m., 3321 State Street.

April 13, Lompoc Library features City of Santa Barbara Poet Laureate, Melinda Palacio, 1 p.m., 501 E. North Ave., Lompoc.

April 14, The Poetry Zone, 1:30 p.m., back patio of the Karpeles Manuscript Library, 21 W. Anapamu St.

April 18, Writing in the Galleries, write poetry at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art with Poet Laureate Melinda Palacio, 5:30-7 p.m., 1130 State Street.

April 20, Poetry in the Parks, a special day of poetry at the Alhecama Theatre, poetry and musical acts, including the Gruntled and UCSB Middle East Ensemble, and Santa Barbara poets. 215 A East Canon Perdido St.

April 30, Amanda Gorman in Conversation with Pico Iyer, presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures, 7:30 p.m., Arlington Theatre, 1317 State St.