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Event Photos by Crystal Birns:

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The Annual Morton Marcus Poetry Reading honors poet, teacher, and film critic Morton Marcus (1936–2009). Marcus, a nationally acclaimed poet, called Santa Cruz his home for more than fifty years. This annual poetry series continues Mort’s tradition of bringing acclaimed poets to Santa Cruz County, continues to acknowledge the significant role poetry has played in our community’s history, and works to maintain poetry’s influence in our county’s culture.

5:30 p.m. doors open / 6:00 p.m. program begins
The reading will conclude with a book signing and reception.

This event is free and open to the public, first come, first served.
Seating is limited and we anticipate a full event, so please plan accordingly.

Directions and Parking:
The UCSC Music Recital Hall is located at 402 McHenry Rd, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Parking lot attendants will be on site to sell permits and direct guests to available parking in the Performing Arts parking lot #126. The cost for parking is $5. Click here for directions.
If you have disability-related needs, please contact us at thi@ucsc.edu or call 831-459-1274.

Event Program:

Poet Gary Young, will host the program, and the evening will include an announcement of the winner of the Morton Marcus Poetry Contest (recipient receives a $1,000 prize). This annual free event will have first-come, first-served seating. Doors will open at 5:30 PM. The reading will conclude with a book signing and reception.

Gary Snyder is a poet, environmentalist, Zen Buddhist and educator. Involved in the Beat movement, Snyder read at the famous Six Gallery reading alongside Allen Ginsberg. Snyder’s writing focuses on environmental concerns and Zen Buddhism. He is an environmental activist who is known for his simple, clear style, as well as his first-person descriptions of his experiences in the natural world. Snyder’s poetry is influenced by Japanese haiku and Chinese verse, in addition to his knowledge of anthropological factors like oral traditions. Over his long career, Snyder has written more than 20 books of poetry and prose. In 1975, his collection Turtle Island was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. His 1992 collection, No Nature, was a National Book Award finalist and he received the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize in 2008.

Tom Killion is famous for his vibrantly colored woodcut prints of the California landscape. He was born and raised in Mill Valley, California, on the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais. The rugged scenery of Marin County and Northern California inspired him from an early age to create landscape prints using linoleum and wood, strongly influenced by the traditional Japanese Ukiyo-ë style of Hokusai and Hiroshige. He studied History at UC Santa Cruz, where he was introduced to fine book printing by William Everson and Jack Stauffacher. In 1975, he produced his first illustrated book on UCSC’s Cowell Press. After traveling extensively in Europe and Africa, Killion returned to Santa Cruz in 1977 and founded his own Quail Press, where he published his second book, “Fortress Marin”. Visit tomkillion.com to learn more.

About Morton Marcus: The Morton Marcus Poetry Reading event commemorates Santa Cruz poet Morton Marcus who was a poet, author, teacher, film critic, as well as an activist for the arts. Born in New York City, Morton spent most of his professional life in Santa Cruz, California, and he is strongly associated with its poetry and art community. For more information visit www.mortonmarcus.com. You can also view the Morton Marcus Archive in Special Collections at UCSC.

This community event is co-sponsored by: 
The Humanities Institute
Living Writers Series
Porter Hitchcock Modern Poetry Fund
Special Collections & Archives
Cowell College
Porter College
Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
Ow Family Properties
Poetry Santa Cruz
Cabrillo College English Department
Santa Cruz Writes
Bookshop Santa Cruz