Poems in Defense of Our Planet: Please join us at Sierra Club’s national headquarters in Oakland, CA as we hear two insightful poets read their inspiring work to support Sierra Club’s mission to protect the world we love. To make a tax-deductible donation through Sierra Club Foundation, click here. Thank you. Jane Hirshfield’s ninth, forthcoming poetry collection is Ledger (Knopf, […]

Maurya Simon is the author of ten volumes of poetry, including Speaking in Tongues, a nominee for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize, Ghost Orchid, which was nominated in 2004 for a National Book Award in Poetry, Cartographies, (Red Hen Press, 2008), and most recently, a limited-edition letterpress book, Questions My Daughters Asked Me, Answers I Never Gave Them (Blackbird Press, 2014). Her novel-in-verse, entitled The […]

Poetry Weekend focuses on poems that center on language. The Saturday afternoon workshop examines multiple translations of two very different poems. Our guest speakers, Forrest Gander and Meryl Natchez, will guide us through the challenges of translation and answer your questions. The Poetry Weekend is held at the lovely Vallombrosa Conference Center, located within walking […]

A night for teens recite their original work. Teens from local high schools will perform: “A mic for your poem, your breath, and your soul. A space for your comrades, your thoughts to unroll. Bring paper or not, or perform on the spot, we’re all here to listen to the words that you brought.” Contact Maxine […]

Our annual holiday party at the Falkirk mansion is a time for poetry, song, and great food. Bring a poem and a holiday dish to share. If your last name begins with: A – G – please bring a dessert H – P – please bring a salad Q – Z – please bring a […]

Evie Shockley is the author of semiautomatic and the new black, both winners of the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in Poetry; semiautomatic was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the LA Times Book Prize.  Her publications include as well the critical study Renegade Poetics: Black Aesthetics and Formal Innovation in African American Poetry and poems and essays appearing recently and forthcoming in The Paris Review, Kenyon […]

Atascadero, Corcoran, Lancaster, Mule Creek, Salinas Valley, San Quentin,Vacaville, Valley We are pleased to present a sampling of “Poetry from Prisoners” incarcerated in California. Readers will include poets Rose Black and Ken Weisner, currently teaching at the Salinas Valley State Prison poetry workshop. Rose and Ken are also two of the founders of Right to […]

MPC hosted a reading to feature members who published books and chapbooks in 2020. Visit our growing MPC member bookshop here.