Since its inception in 2010, the annual Morton Marcus Poetry Reading has become one of the most highly anticipated literary events in the Santa Cruz area, drawing luminaries of poetry from all over the nation.
But this year, the festival honors a highly distinguished poet who has made Santa Cruz her home since 1974. Ellen Bass, whose work appears frequently in The New Yorker, The American Poetry Review, The New York Times Magazine and The Atlantic, will be the honored reader at this year’s celebration, which will take place at 6 p.m., Thursday, November 7, at the Merrill Cultural Center on the University of California, Santa Cruz campus.
The reading series honors the life and work of poet, author, teacher, film critic, and activist for the arts Morton Marcus (1936–2009). A longtime Santa Cruz resident, Marcus was strongly associated with the Central Coast literary community.
The poet Maggie Paul, whose detailed interview with Bass appears on THI’s website, describes her as “a poet of deep generosity. Anyone who has participated in her Living Room Craft Talks series, or has studied with her at Pacific University’s low-residency MFA program, attended workshops at Esalen, or even bumped into her on her frequent walks by the sea in Santa Cruz, will attest to the bottomless well of camaraderie and encouragement she exudes, particularly when it comes to the art of the poem.”
Ellen Bass knew Morton Marcus for many years.
“She and Mort met shortly upon her arrival and he knew that Ellen had been a student of Anne Sexton’s in Boston,” said Donna Mekis, who serves on the Morton Marcus Poetry Committee, which also includes Farnaz Fatemi, Danusha Laméris, Teresa Mora, Mark Ong, Maggie Paul, Irena Polić, David Sullivan and Gary Young.
“The goal of the committee is to continue Mort's tradition of bringing significant poets to Santa Cruz County, to acknowledge the role poetry has played in our community's history, and to work to maintain poetry's influence in Santa Cruz County’s culture,” Mekis said. “Sometimes, we need to look within our own community for our star poets as we did when we invited Joseph Stroud, Gary Young, and now Ellen Bass.”
Bass is the author of nine poetry collections of poetry and was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 2017. She is the recipient of fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the California Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Lambda Literary Award for Poetry, the Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry, and two Pushcart Prizes.
She co-edited with Florence Howe the first major anthology of women’s poetry, No More Masks! Her nonfiction books include the groundbreaking The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and Free Your Mind: The Book for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth.
A chancellor emerita of the Academy of American Poets, Bass founded poetry workshops at Salinas Valley State Prison and in the Santa Cruz jails, and teaches in the MFA writing program at Pacific University.
Author Gary Young, who teaches creative writing and directs the Cowell Press at UC Santa Cruz, will be the host for this event.
This free reading is presented by The Humanities Institute at UCSC as one of the signature events marking THI’s 25th anniversary.
Donna Mekis spoke of the longtime partnership between this reading series and THI.
“In the beginning there were just a few of us organizing the reading each year, and it was funded by Ow Family Properties — Mort and George Ow Jr. were long-time friends,” Mekis said. “Then, in 2015, Irena Polić, (managing director of THI) and I were having lunch one day, and she said, ‘Why isn’t UCSC involved in this reading series? After all, Mort’s Poetry Archive is housed in Special Collections & Archives on campus?’’’
“So, THI and UC Santa Cruz jumped in that year, and we have been partners on this reading series ever since,” Mekis said. “Now, we have several fiscal sponsors including a significant investment by UC Santa Cruz, which has kept the reading free of charge and open to the public as Mort would have wished.”
Seating will be first come first served. Online registration for the event is strongly encouraged.
This reading is part of the Fall UCSC Living Writers course, which features poets, novelists, academics, curators, and artists in conversation with one another, in person, across genre and media.
This community event is presented by The Humanities Institute and co-sponsored by Bookshop Santa Cruz, the Cabrillo College English Department, Cowell College, Donna F. Mekis, The Hive Poetry Collective, the Living Writers Series, Ow Family Properties, Merrill College, Poetry Santa Cruz, Porter Hitchcock Modern Poetry Fund, Porter College, Santa Cruz Writes, Side By Side Press, and UCSC Special Collections & Archives.
