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The poet, translator, publisher, journalist, inventor of literary forms and the writer Lawrence Ferlinghetti described as "the best poetry critic in sight" reads from two new works tonight.
Stephen Kessler's third book of essays, Need I Say More?, ranges across a lifetime of experience and observations. Kessler writes with his signature wit, intellectual rigor and magnetic prose about such varied topics as his father's mysterious childhood, Steve Jobs, Miss America and the bond he shares with his daughter.
In Where Was I?, Kessler puts his stamp on the prose poem. His prosems, as he calls them—sometimes searing, sometimes wistful, occasionally dreamlike—evoke places and moments in vivid yet hypnotic language. Often those places are in or near Santa Cruz, which Kessler has called home off and on for 40 years. Several, including Wine Country and State Route One, have appeared in Hilltromper's Outdoor Poet series. They are practically pieces of music.
Learn more about Stephen Kessler at his website.
Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz. 7:30pm. Free.
Photo by Dina Scoppettone
