It’s fitting that April is Poetry Month. Out of all the available months, April just exudes poetry. I mean, what is more poetic than blooming flowers, chirping birds, and buzzing bees?
The greats seem to agree. Take Mary Oliver’s “Spring”or William Wordsworth’s “Lines Written in Early Spring.”
In celebration of National Poetry Month, Chaucer’s Books will host an evening of powerful, place-rooted storytelling on Thursday, April 9, at 6 p.m., featuring a lineup of distinct poetic voices from across the region. With Somewhere, a Playground,Rich Ferguson brings urgent, lyrical reflections on grief and resilience, while Kathleen Florence, through Prayers with a Side of Cash, offers a multimedia-infused exploration of identity and movement across America.
Also featured is Stephanie Barbé Hammer, who brings a sense of movement and discovery with work drawn from City Slicker: encounters with the outside, tracing moments of wonder across both urban and natural landscapes. Santa Barbara’s own Poet Laureate (2023-2025) Melinda Palacio rounds out the evening with evocative work How Fire Is a Story, Waiting, that balances heartbreak and humor through themes of family, memory, and survival.
I spoke with Palacio, who writes the biweekly column Poetry Connection for Independent.com, about the upcoming event.
The poems in How Fire Is a Story, Waiting balance heartbreak with humor — how intentional is that interplay when you’re writing?
I grew up in a large household with my grandparents, my eight uncles, and my mother’s sister. Laughter and humor, however heartbreaking the situation, always went hand in hand. In some ways, laughter was a way to cope with living in the inner city with limited resources, and everyone crammed into a small house. Sometimes I didn’t appreciate the jokes, but learning to let the words fall off my shoulder added to my inner strength and understanding of the power of words.
What does it mean to you to read at Chaucer’s Books, especially during Poetry Month?
I don’t like to imagine a Santa Barbara without bookstores. I am happy that Chaucer’s Books continues to provide that important anchor between the writer, the reader, and the community. I know poets are supposed to be excited about all that happens during National Poetry Month. However, for me, poetry happens every month of the year. I appreciate that Chaucer’s Books makes space for poetry events throughout the year.
What can audiences expect from your reading that they might not get just from reading your work on the page?
They can hear my quirky voice and also get a sense of how I hear the poems in my head. I always learn something new about a poem when I read it out loud. It’s how the form was meant to be experienced before we had our own books.
There’s a sense of honoring the women who came before you. How does poetry function as a form of preservation or legacy for you?
I feel lucky to have been raised by two strong women, my mother and grandmother. I write to honor them. I don’t have a particular intent or agenda when I write, but I am touched when I visit classrooms, and students thank me for writing poems that they can see themselves in.
Chaucer’s Books Poetry Event is on Thursday, April 9, at 6 p.m., at 3321 State Street. For more information, see chaucersbooks.com.
