Ground-breaking poet and author Robert Bly will perform at The Granada on April 23 in a rare public performance in support of several of the community’s most essential nonprofit organizations. Bly, author of more than three-dozen works of poetry and translations and the bestsellers Iron John and The Sibling Society, remains one of the most hotly debated American artists of the past half-century.
In his wide-ranging roles as a poet, editor, translator, storyteller and the father of what he has called the “expressive men’s movement,” Bly has influenced two generations of poets and readers on how to write, hear, read and use both poetry and myth as psychological revelation, guidance and interpretation.
Accompanied onstage by sitarist David Whetstone and tabla percussionist Marcus Wise, Bly will bring his art, wit and the wisdom of our current cultural dilemmas to the stage for this literary and philanthropic event.
“We are thrilled to have the wisdom of such a gifted and talented man as Robert Bly take the stage on our behalf,” said event organizer Alan Clammer. “The three organizations this event is supporting are in tremendous need of financial support in order to continue their invaluable programs, programs that help nurture and shape our local community.”
Proceeds will benefit The Mankind Project of Santa Barbara, Domestic Violence Solutions of Santa Barbara and Boys-to-Men Mentoring Network.
“An Evening with Robert Bly,” will open at 7:30 p.m. April 23, and will be followed by an Author’s Circle, a post-performance reception with Bly in the Granada Founders Room.
Tickets range from $25 to $60 for general seating and $125 for Author’s Circle (including premium seating). Click here to purchase tickets online or call The Granada box office at 805.899.2222. Click here for more information on Bly.
The ManKind Project is “an order of men called to reclaim the sacred masculine of our time through initiation, training and action in the world.” The nonprofit organization provides personal and leadership training that dramatically changes men’s lives. More than 30,000 men in the United States and around the world have been initiated into the organization.
Domestic Violence Solutions is the only Santa Barbara County agency working to end the intergenerational cycle of domestic violence by providing prevention and intervention services and by challenging society’s attitudes, beliefs and behaviors to effect social change.
Boys-to Men-Mentoring Network is a nonprofit organization created to guide boys 12 to 17 years of age through their passage to manhood. It provides them with mentoring and modeling so that they learn integrity, accountability, compassion and respect.
— Noozhawk staff writer Laurie Jervis can be reached at ljervis@noozhawk.com.