Arts & Culture
Celebrating the power of poetry: Ellen Bass draws large, enthusiastic crowd for Morton Marcus Poetry Reading on campus
Three hundred people filled the Merrill Cultural Center to hear celebrated poet Ellen Bass deliver the keynote presentation at the 15th annual Morton Marcus Poetry Reading this month.
Ellen Bass. Photos by Shmuel Thaler, Santa Cruz Sentinel
A large and appreciative crowd filled the Merrill Cultural Center to hear celebrated poet Ellen Bass deliver the keynote presentation at the 16th annual Morton Marcus Poetry Reading this month.
The reading, presented by The Humanities Institute, has brought such luminaries as Robert Hass, Gary Snyder, Natasha Trethewey, and Dorianne Laux to read from their work.
Community members, students, and longtime supporters of the literary arts gathered to participate.
The annual event honors Morton Marcus (1936–2009), a Santa Cruz poet, teacher, and film critic whose archive is housed in UC Santa Cruz’s Special Collections.
For this year’s edition, Bass read from several of her works, including her most recent collection, Indigo (Copper Canyon Press, 2020).
Bass’s publications also include Like a Beggar, The Human Line, Mules of Love, and numerous appearances in The New Yorker and American Poetry Review. She is a recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the NEA, the California Arts Council, the Lambda Literary Award, and four Pushcart Prizes.
Bass is also known for co-editing the influential anthology No More Masks! and for her nonfiction work on trauma and LGBTQ+ youth. She teaches in the MFA program at Pacific University.
Donna Mekis, who serves on the Morton Marcus Poetry Committee, said the strong turnout and enthusiastic response to Bass’s “stunningly strong and clear” reading shows that poetry has not lost its power and relevance for appreciative readers.
“People turn to poetry and art more than ever when there is escalating stress and anxiety in the world,” Mekis said. “We need the guidance and vision of poets more than ever now.”
She also noted Bass’s many Santa Cruz connections. Bass lives in town and has taught many local poets through workshops and classes.
George Ow Jr., a longtime community supporter of the event, said that this year’s reading is one reason he views Santa Cruz as a “cultural heaven” where great performances, art, and lectures are accessible to audiences.
He relished the experience of being in a room with a “standing-room-only orderly mob of poetry lovers. What a perfect night for this puzzling, perplexing and challenging time.”
The poet Gary Young, former director of Cowell Press, and the featured reader at the Morton Marcus Poetry Reading in 2021, introduced the program and read from his own work.
Young is the author of multiple poetry collections, including That’s What I Thought, Precious Mirror, Even So, Pleasure, and No Other Life.
Books by both featured poets were available through Bookshop Santa Cruz.
The evening included the announcement of the winner of the The Morton Marcus Poetry Prize, which carries a $1,000 award, which went to Santa Fe poet Joyce Victor for her poem “Phillip’s Celebration.” This year’s contest was judged by poet Nancy Miller Gomez.
The event was presented by The Humanities Institute along with a wide group of campus and community co-sponsors, including Bookshop Santa Cruz, Cabrillo College’s English Department, Cowell and Merrill Colleges, the Hive Poetry Collective, Santa Cruz Writes, Special Collections & Archives, and others. The reading is part of the Living Writers Series,