Summer Reading: Community Poetry and Your Poems, Featuring Alma Boutin-Martinez

Greetings from New Orleans. Poetry takes me to places beyond Santa Barbara. This time, I am embarking on a working vacation. I have a few events in the Big Easy and I plan to work on two book projects. I’ve also had a chance to catch up on your poetry. Keep your submissions coming to poetry@independent.com. I would love to see your road trip or summertime poems. 

The theme of cruel summer also seems appropriate given the heat wave we are experiencing. I left Santa Barbara shortly after attending a funeral for a dear friend, and I arrived in Louisiana with news that a different friend had a fatal stroke. I sat down to write some words inspired by my friend. The emotions are too raw for me to share at this moment. I may not make sense of the words, but the act of writing is healing.

This week, we are featuring the poetry of Alma Boutin-Martinez, the daughter of Colombian immigrants and the Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness and Continuous Improvement at Fielding Graduate University. I had the pleasure of meeting Alma at the Goleta Valley Library’s Live Poetry Series, featuring Enid Osborn, Linda Saccoccio, and Skylar Ngai.