Paul Willis, 蜜桃传媒 professor of English, will read from his new book, 鈥淰isiting Home,鈥� at the Wildling Art Museum, 2329 Jonata St., Los Olivos, on Sunday, June 1, at 3 p.m. The event is free, and the book will be available for sale and signing.
鈥淭he poems visit many homes, wild and domestic, in my own experience of growing up in Oregon and living now in Santa Barbara,鈥� Willis says. 鈥淎long the way they detour through the Cascades, Sierra Nevada, and Santa Barbara backcountry. These are above all, poems of place, and of how we are shaped by place.鈥�
The reading will also feature local poets Lois Klein, Bettina Barrett and Michael Hannon, with Celtic harpist Lorin Grean. A wine and cheese reception follows, sponsored by the Valley Foundation.
Willis also authored 鈥淏right Shoots of Everlastingness: Essays on Faith and the American Wild.鈥� He has published numerous poems in journals such as Poetry, Ascent, Wilderness, and Christian Century. His essays, reviews and short stories have appeared in Books & Culture, River Teeth, Image, and Redwood Coast Review. He has also published two eco-fantasy novels, 鈥淣o Clock in the Forest鈥� and 鈥淭he Stolen River.鈥�
鈥淰isiting Home,鈥� Willis鈥� first full collection of poems, is available from Pecan Grove Press at the 蜜桃传媒 bookstore, Chaucer鈥檚 Books and Amazon.com.