The Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (SBTHS) will host a free poetry workshop and tasting event, noon-2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31 in the Presidio Neighborhood.
The event, conducted in partnership with Santa Barbara Poet Laureate George Yatchisin and Gunpowder Press, aims to inspire the community to create poetry about Santa Barbara County food, drink, restaurants and agriculture for a new collection to be published by Gunpowder Press.
After a poetry workshop led by Yatchisin at the Pico Adobe in El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park, participants will visit three Presidio Neighborhood locations: Rudy’s Mexican Restaurant for a bite to eat; Loubud Wines to sip a local sparkling wine; and The Space – Su’nan Protection, Art & Cultural Education for a Chumash sweet treat.
The experience in the Presidio Neighborhood is designed to bring awareness to the forthcoming anthology about Santa Barbara’s food and drink, and encourage poetry submissions to be considered for the anthology.
Pre-registration is required as capacity is limited. Location, parking and registration information can be found on the event page.
For more, visit www.presidioneighborhoodsb.com/poetry-grows-here.
The Presidio Neighborhood encompasses nine square blocks in and around the site of the Santa Barbara Presidio, the last of Spain’s four fortresses built in California in the 18th century.
The district also includes the historical locations of Santa Barbara’s Nihonmachi (Japantown) and Chinatown, as well as the Mexican pueblo that evolved into the new city of Santa Barbara in 1850.
Today, the Presidio Neighborhood includes an array of local businesses, community organizations, civic institutions, parks and schools.
Yatchisin is the Santa Barbara Poet Laureate, 2025-2027. His poetry has appeared in journals and anthologies and is collected in his books “Feast Days” and “The First Night We Thought the World Would End.”
Yatchisin also writes journalism, having covered topics as diverse as dart leagues, reined cow horse cowboys, military museums, mime troupes, movies, rock and roll, and lots of food, wine, and cocktails.
In 2023 Yatchisin completed his first novel, “Something a Little Like This.” He has an MFA in poetry and MA/W in nonfiction prose from the University of Iowa and an MA in poetry from the Johns Hopkins University.
Yatchisin retired from his position as the Director of Communications for UCSB’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education in 2023. He lives in Santa Barbara with his wife, poet and co-editor of Gunpowder Press, Chryss Yost.
For more about the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, visit sbthp.org.