SMC Salon Features Local Poets

   Noted Los Angeles poets Judith Taylor, Richard Garcia and Wilfred Doucet will read from their works at Santa Monica College’s Salon Series at SMC’s Madison Campus on Saturday, January 26.
   Taylor’s first collection of poems, Curios, appeared in 2000. Her work has been published nationally in anthologies and journals and she has won several awards, including the Pushcart Prize.
   Garcia has also won many awards, including the Pushcart Prize, for his book of poetry, The Flying Garcias and other work. He is currently Poet-in-Residence at the Long Beach Museum of Art, and at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
   Doucet, an SMC English Professor, is a co-founder of the Ubwenge Artist Collective; co-editor of Ethiop’s Ear, a printed and online journal; and co-founder and facilitator of the Third Root Poetry Workshop and Artist Showcase.
   The free evening of poetry will be held in the Pete and Susan Barrett Arty Gallery, where the college is currently showing “Materials and Meaning: A Sculpture Exhibition.” Complimentary cappuccino and biscotti will be served.
   Co-sponsored by the SMC Associates, the salon is part of a year long series of free cultural events and concerts designed to bring attention to SMC’s plan to build a 500-seat performing arts hall at the historic Madison site.
   The poetry reading will begin at 7 p.m. at the Madison Campus, located on Santa Monica Boulevard at 11th Street. For more information, call (310) 434-3431.