Santa Barbara's Perie Longo Talks about Being a City's Poet Laureate
Melinda Palacio -- April 11, 2008
Santa Barbara's Poet Laureate Perie Longo has prepared for several decades for the challenging task of being a city's special poet. The citizens and literary community nominated her for her untiring comittment to Poetry in the Schools and Poetry Therapy. Longo succeeds Poet Laureate Emeritus Barry Spacks as the city's second Poet Laureate. Longo also inherits the Poetry Matters column, started by Spacks, in the Santa Barbara Independent.
Poets Laureate Phil
Levine and Perie Longo
Longo describes the task of writing poems she otherwise wouldn't write as a wonderful opportunity. One of her roles as the city's Poet Laureate requires inaugerating public events with a poem. She's written poems as diverse as celebrating the 225th anniversary of the Presidio to the inaugeration of Dr. Michael Mulnix as the first preseident of Antioch Santa Barbara to the first meeting of the City Council this January. For each of her many official assignments, she searches for an appropriate hook and strong emotional connection.
She was able to accept the position of Poet Laureate as her two year term as the the President of the National Association for Poetry Therapy concluded. However, her work as a poetry thearapist continues and she remains a cherished faculty member of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference and a California Poet in the Schools, a program begun in 1964 by San Francisco poets to honor California's cultural diversity. She was the area-coordinator for twenty-three years until Christine Kravetz took over. Our humble poet says she was surprised by her nomination as Santa Barbara's Poet Laureate.
"It was a kind gesture from poets of Santa Barbara. I don't think I'm that great of a poet, but my passion for poetry has been obvious in the community and in my 25 years with California Poets in the Schools. I'm very proud of the fact the program has continued. I am a good teacher."
Perie Longo and
Ted Kooser
Longo has known she was a writer since she was seven years old. She used to love to watch the World War II parades march in front of her home and she delighted in the marching band's music. She was a shy child who spent her free time writing poetry and novels while other kids played outside. "Poetry was sacred to me as a kid," said Longo. "Poetry became my best friend by helping me understand things about myself."
She discovered her father was a closet poet who stuffed pieces of paper with poems in books and in random places in their Milwaukee home. "When I was 18, I went around the house and proceeded to gather papers in books and drawers," said Longo. "I typed them on my father's Royal typewriter and presented them as a 25th wedding anniversary gift." In 1993, after her mother died, Longo transcribed her father's manuscript onto a computer and gave copies to her four siblings.
One thing students and fans of Perie Longo may not know is that she used to be a professional actress. She was a member of the early Ensemble Theatre in Santa Barbara and UCSB's Theatre Artist Group. However, her poetry life took over her earlier thespian interests shortly after she attended the Santa Barbara Writers Contest and won the poetry award that launched her teaching career.
Her work as a poetry therapist began when she started to observe how poetry gives students pride in themselves and a love for literature. She was the first and only person to check out a book on poetry therapy at the Santa Barbara library. After writing to the psychiatrist who wrote the book, she realized she had already fulfilled the requirements to be a poetry therapist, based on her work in the schools.
Perie At the Presidio
Perie Longo enjoys turning new people onto poetry. One of her goals as Poet Laureate is to put together a book of poems about Santa Barbara by Santa Barbara poets. Longo is an accomplished poet who has been honing her craft since childhood. She's produced three volumes of poetry books, including Milking the Earth, The Privacy of Wind, and most recently With Nothing Behind but Sky: a Journey through Grief. Her advice to people interested in becoming poets is to read.
"Find a poet whose voice you like. Start reading poetry out loud. Poetry is music. Once you start reading out loud, get a book on crafting poetry, such as Ted Kooser's The Poetry Home Repair Manual. Participate in seminars. You don't learn to write poetry overnight."
For those able to come to Santa Barbara, Longo teaches private poetry seminars, a weeklong course with the Santa Barbara Writers Conference in June and Longo runs the 8th Annual Santa Barbara Summer Poetry Workshop August 2-4. Read more about Santa Barbara's second Poet Laureate Perie Longo .