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Originally published in the Santa Barbara Independent As we wrap up 2023 and resolve to make changes in 2024, my first year Poet Laureate is still in play. The term began in April and in three months, a second year begins. I’m just getting started. A reflection on 2023 reminds me that I did something […]

Originally published in the Santa Barbara Independent While this week is all about Christmas for me. One of the traditions I will add to my holiday events is Hospice’s Light Up a Life. I have to admit when Poet Laureate Emerita, Perie Longo, Santa Barbara’s second poet laureate, asked me to read poetry at two […]

Previously Published in the Santa Barbara Independent Last Sunday, poet Alexandra Lytton Regalado gave a salon style reading and discussion at the Ridley Tree House where she is in residence for the week, thanks to a collaboration with Santa Barbara City College and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. I’ve had the opportunity to connect […]

Previously published in the Independent During a day-long celebration of the Day of the dead, Santa Barbara came to life. The community celebration and Oaxacan Calenda (procession with music and dancers and larger than life puppets) was something we had never experienced before as a community. I am very grateful to have participated in the […]

Poetry Connection Meets Rainbow Connection

*This essay first appeared in the Santa Barbara Independent One question that I’m often asked is Why Poetry or What Does Poetry Contribute? Last week’s typewriter poetry event helped me offer an answer. Simply put poetry is the best friend you didn’t know you needed or have had all your life. Poetry allows you to […]

Poetry Connection | More than a Mentor: Connecting with Sojourner Kincaid Rolle

      *This column originally appeared in the Santa Barbara Independent Last month, I wrote about my twenty-year journey at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. What I didn’t talk about was the team-teaching I do with mystery writer Lida Sideris. A few years before the pandemic, Lida and I started offering a workshop titled, […]

Poetry Connection Column: previously published in the Santa Barbara IndependentBy Melinda Palacio, Santa Barbara Poet Laureate   Last week’s Laureate Series at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Paseo Nuevo was the first event I’ve hosted in a while. That it was on a First Thursday, meant there was a built-in audience. People know that […]