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(Santa Barbara, CA) – Colombian American poet Carlos Andrés Gómez, star of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and the Spike Lee movie Inside Man with Denzel Washington, will celebrate the release of his new poetry chapbook, Patrilineation(selected by Raina León as winner of the Alta California Poetry Prize), on Wednesday, August 19th at 5:30pm at the Santa Barbara Public Library. The event is free and open to the public and will be followed by a reception and book signing with Gómez.
Carlos Andrés Gómez is the author of Hijito, for which he was awarded the Foreword INDIES Gold Medal and the International Book Award in 2020, and the coming-of-age memoir Man Up: Reimagining Modern Manhood, released by Penguin Random House in 2012.
His most recent book, Fractures, was selected by Pulitzer Prize winner and 19th U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey as the winner of the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry.
With keynotes and performances at more than 1,500 colleges, universities, independent schools, festivals, and conferences across all 50 U.S. states and 31 countries spanning six continents, Carlos has been featured on NPR, PBS, TEDx, Upworthy, Central Park SummerStage, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and partnered with John Legend for Senior Orientation, a program to counteract bullying and champion inclusive masculinity among high school students.
A former social worker and public school teacher, Carlos first made a name for himself by winning at the Apollo Theater’s celebrated Amateur Night and later as a member of the renowned Nuyorican Poets Café’s slam team. In 2008, he collaborated with Tony Award-winning tap dance legend Savion Glover on Broadway. Gómez is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.
“Carlos was by far the most engaging and inspiring poet I have ever seen.” —Drew Donica, Lawrence University
Upcoming event date:
5:30pm on Wednesday, August 19th, 2026 in the Faulkner Gallery at Santa Barbara Public Library
For exclusive press access, interviews, and other inquiries: booking@carloslive.com
For more information on Carlos: http://www.CarlosLive.com
