Last week, Santa Barbara’s Poets Laureate were invited by Rick and Kathy Sawyer to an afternoon of poetry readings and to experience the landscape of Hollister Ranch. Located just beyond Gaviota, approximately a half hour north along the Highway 101 coast from Santa Barbara, Hollister Ranch is described as a working ranch. The area, characterized by its winding roads and deep coastal drops, creates an impression of being distinctly separate from Santa Barbara.
Attendees at the Hollister Ranch event included Rick Sawyer, Kathy Sawyer, Jasmin Sawyer, Jessica Teona Schley, Steve Beisner, George Yatchisin, Chryss Yost, Paul Willis, Sharon Willis, David Starkey, and the author. The event took place amidst unusual warm temperatures for October, attributed to El Niño and global warming, making the afternoon feel like a summer day. Following lunch and poetry readings at the Hollister house, several poets engaged in ocean swimming, drawn in by the water described as having a “bubble-bath temperature.”
Many of the poets present at Hollister Ranch had also attended George Yatchisin’s recent event, “Spirits in the Air, Potent Potable Poetry, Halloween Season Edition 2026,” held at The Good Lion. This event featured 10 readers who presented both their own poetry and that of another writer. Stephanie Barbé Hammer and Elizabeth Pérez were first-time attendees and readers at the “Spirits in the Air” poetry event, which was dedicated to themes of drinks or potent spirits.
Two poets whose work was highlighted in connection with these gatherings are Steve Beisner and Elizabeth Pérez. Steve Beisner is known as a computer programmer, musician, and writer of fiction and poetry. His work, reflecting “the strange beauty of real life,” was read by Stephanie Barbé Hammer. Elizabeth Pérez, a Cuban American writer and associate professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, also had a poem featured. Pérez was named a finalist for several literary prizes in 2024 and 2025, and her poem “Independence Night” won the 2025 River Heron Editors’ Prize. She is also the author of two award-winning books focusing on Caribbean and Afro-Diasporic religions.
The community also has opportunities to engage with poetry and writing in the coming weeks. The Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara is presenting its 2027 Essay and Poetry Awards Program, inviting students to honor Dr. King Jr.’s legacy. The theme for this year's submissions is: “It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people.” Entries can be sent to the MLKSB Essay and Poetry Program.
Upcoming local poetry and writing events include the Low State Writing Salon, offering writing prompts and time for the community, on Tuesday, November 10, from 7-9 p.m. at the Blue Owl, 5 West Canon Perdido Street. The Poetry Zone is scheduled for Thursday, November 12, at 4 p.m. at 401 State Street. The Goleta Valley Library will host The Poetry Club on Sunday, November 15, from 2-3 p.m., inviting participants to read a favorite poem or one of their own. Also on Sunday, November 15, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, a local poetry professor and poet laureate emerita, will lead a reading of favorite poems from 4-5 p.m. at Domecil, 1223 State Street. Finally, a poetry reading titled “Three Counties, Three Poets Laureate” will take place on Monday, November 16, featuring poets laureate George Yatchisin, Mary Ann McFadden, and Caleb Nichols. This event is scheduled from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Central Library’s Faulkner Gallery, 40 East Anapamu Street.
