The Santa Ynez Valley Natural History Society and the Sedgwick Reserve invite the public to a poetry reading in recognition of Earth Day featuring Paul Willis, former poet laureate of Santa Barbara. The free event happens April 23 at 7 p.m. at the Tipton Meeting House on the reserve.
The reserve gates open at 5 p.m. so attendees can enjoy a picnic supper or a walk around the Sedgwick pond. Reservations aren’t required, but seating is only available for 90 people.
Willis is a professor of English at Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he teaches creative writing and British Renaissance literature. His poems have been included in journals and anthologies such as The Best American Poetry 1996, and his book The Deep and Secret Color of Ice, was selected for the Small Press Poetry Prize in 2002. He was the Santa Barbara Poet Laureate from 2011 to 2013.
More information about the event is available at syvnature.org or sedgwick.nrs.ucsb.edu/directions.
This article appears in Apr 21-28, 2016.