The Annual Morton Marcus Poetry Reading honors poet, teacher, and film critic Morton Marcus (1936–2009). Marcus was the 1999 Santa Cruz County Artist of the Year and a recipient of the 2007 Gail Rich Award. Among his published works are eleven volumes of poetry, including The Santa Cruz Mountain Poems, Pages from a Scrapbook of Immigrants, Moments Without Names, Shouting Down the Silence, Pursuing the Dream Bone and The Dark Figure In The Doorway; a novel, The Brezhnev Memo; and a literary memoir, Striking Through the Masks. He taught English and Film at Cabrillo College for thirty years, was the co-host of the radio program, The Poetry Show, and was the co-host of the television film review show, Cinema Scene. Learn more at: www.mortonmarcus.com
The Morton Marcus Poetry Archive can be found at UCSC Special Collections. Mort’s personal papers, manuscripts, and recordings reflect his legacy as a poet and educator, and his collection of poetry books, broadsides, literary magazines and correspondence with other poets and writers illuminate his deep involvement in, and passion for, the literary art of poetry.
Organizing Committee
Len Anderson, Danusha Laméris, Donna Mekis, Mark Ong, Maggie Paul, Irena Polić, Teresa Mora, Joseph Stroud, and Gary Young.
Past Events
November 2, 2023: Chitra Divakaruni
November 3, 2022: Natasha Trethewey
November 18, 2021: Gary Young
November 12, 2020: Morgan Parker
November 7, 2019: Gary Soto
November 15, 2018: Gary Snyder
November 16, 2017: Dorianne Laux
November 3, 2016: Joseph Stroud
November 12, 2015: Al Young
November 13, 2014: Peter Everwine and Chuck Hanzlicek
November 6, 2013: Naomi Shihab Nye
November 10, 2012: Arthur Sze
November 20, 2011: Kay Ryan
November 6, 2010: Robert Hass