Willis is New Santa Barbara Poet Laureate

Paul Willis, Westmont professor of English, has been selected as Santa Barbara Poet Laureate, a position the city established in 2004 to “advance awareness of and appreciation for literary arts and humanities within the greater Santa Barbara community.” Willis will be installed during a brief, public ceremony on Tuesday, April 12, at 2 p.m. in City Hall.

Willis, who earned a doctorate in English at Washington State University, has taught at Westmont since 1988. He recently published a revised version of his first novel, “No Clock in the Forest,” together with three sequels, in a single book, “The Alpine Tales.” His most recent collections of poetry are “Rosing from the Dead” (WordFarm, 2009) and “Visiting Home” (Pecan Grove Press, 2008). Willis also worked with former Santa Barbara Poet Laureate David Starkey to edit “In a Fine Frenzy: Poets Respond to Shakespeare” (University of Iowa Press, 2005).

Willis says he is thrilled by the two-year position. “I do feel honored, as the past persons in this role have been outstanding poets indeed,” he says. “My honorary duties will include composing poems for civic occasions and organizing literary events in the city.”

The announcement from the Santa Barbara City Council coincides with April, National Poetry Month. Willis has organized a kick-off event for the month, “The Ever-Living Poets Society: A Reading of Santa Barbara Poets of Days Gone By,” Tuesday, April 5, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Hill-Carrillo Adobe, 15 East Carrillo Street. “I have selected the Carrillo Street venue, former home of the Santa Barbara Foundation, because D. H. Lawrence once gave a poetry reading there in the 1920s,” Willis says.

The event includes Enid Osborn reading poems by Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957), Mary Brown reading poems by Kenneth Rexroth (1905-1982) and John Ridland reading poems by Alan Stephens (1925-2009). The event, sponsored by Westmont, is free and open to the public.