SANTA BARBARA GOES BALLISTIC OVER POETRY

April is National Poetry Month and Santa Barbara celebrates in a bigger than ever way.

For one thing, the town has selected its first Poet Laureate, writer and UCSB Professor Barry Spacks, who'll be inaugurated on April 5th at a 2 p.m. ceremony at City Hall, open to the public.

Spacks will serve a two-year term at a job he describes as "raising poetry consciousness and enjoyment by all means necessary or conceivable."

The project of increasing poem-presence in an arts and culture-driven town already salted with legions of poets and poetry-lovers includes extensive April happenings.  Prominent among these is the installation of memorial stones from Nobel Prize winning poet  Gabriela Mistral's native Chile. Mistral lived for many years in Santa Barbara. The proclamation of the memorial to her takes place at the Faulkner Gallery of the downtown library at 5 p.m. on April 21st.

Elsewhere in April (see box below) Santa Barbara presents a series of readings, poems in store windows, poetry emphasis in bookstores, translations from the Hungarian, Hispanic poetry on the Art Museum's front steps, and various video presentations, including one session of Favorite Poems read by non-poets.

Who would better appreciate poetry than Senior Citizens and children? Poetry month begins with the first of a year long presentation of poems at senior centers, and continues with the recognition of young poets on Tuesday April 12th at 7 p.m. and children's work from the Poets in the Schools Project on Saturday, April 23rd, both readings scheduled at the Faulkner Gallery.

Also on the 28th at Border's Books and Music, 900 State Street, an 7:30 p.m. reading focuses on Shakespeare at an unveiling of A Fine Frenzy, a new anthology of poets responding to the incomparable bard.

Other events for April include Funny Poems for Tax Day, a laughter-relief offering on the dire 15th, and poets performing out of inspiration provided by two Art Museum April openings, one a show of Japanese paintings, another of nature photography by Robert Buelteman. Langston Hughes, key voice of the Harlem Renaissance, will be honored at a 4th Annual Celebration of his work, and two readings of Hispanic Poetry are being arranged for the Art Museum front steps. The planning for the month-long festival goes on.

The elevation of a Santa Barbara poet to Poet Laureate for the City of Santa Barbara is a project of the City Arts Advisory Committee working directly with the City Council. The Arts Advisory Committee is made up of artists and arts supporters who advocate for the arts and for increasing the role of the arts in our community’s civic life.  Creating this ongoing dialogue by bringing the arts into our civic culture where they belong is a primary role of the Arts Advisory Committee.

For up-to-date scheduling, phone (805) 966-9959 or visit the April Poetry Events web-site at http://www.sbpoetry.net.

A Partial List of events planned for National Poetry Month follows:

(1)First of a year-long series of readings for Seniors, Garden Court on De La Vina, 4/1, 3 p.m.

(2) Laureate Investiture, City Hall, 4/5, 2 p.m.

(3) 4th Annual Langston Hughes Day reading, The Kava Lounge (Muddy Waters at night) 4/6, 7:30

(4) S.B.'s Favorite Poems Series, Blue Agave Restaurant, 4/11, 5-6:30

(5) Young People's Poetry Contest Winners, Faulkner Gallery of Library, 4/12, 7 p.m.

(6) Comic Relief for Tax Day, Coffee Cat, 4/15, 3:00 onward

(7) John Ridland: readings from his Hungarian translations, Karpeles Gallery, 4/16, 2:30

(8) Poetry-Response to Japanese Painting Show, SBMA, 4/17, 4-5

(9) Dedication of Memorials to Gabriela Mistral, Faulkner Gallery of the Library, 4/21, 5 p.m.

(10) Children's Poetry, Faulkner Gallery of Library, 4/23, 3 p.m.

(11) Readings from A FINE FRENZY: Poets Respond to Shakespeare, Border's 4/28, 8 p.m.

(12) Marathon Reading by April Organizers, C.A.F. 4/27, 7 p.m.

(13) Nature Poems Reading responding to Museum show of Buelteman photographs, SBMA, 4/28. 5:30