The Ina Coolbrith Circle
Poetry gatherings
Since 1919, the Ina Coolbrith Circle has gathered to keep the history and literature of California alive. Our signature monthly gatherings provide a forum for discussions on Golden State poetry by guest speakers and an open-mic for members to share their own work. Learn more about our gatherings or become a member and join us.
Poetry contests
The Ina Coolbrith Circle is proud to foster the literary arts through our long-standing poetry competitions. Whether you are an established poet or a student at one of California’s prestigious universities, we invite you to share your work with us. Learn more about contests or View previous winners
“The soft star-closes to the golden days
I dreamed away, in that far, tropic clime,
Wherein Love’s blossom budded, bloomed and died!”
Ina Coolbrith
Membership
Join an active community of poets and artists dedicated to nurturing California’s literary heritage. By becoming a member, you help sustain a century-long tradition of promoting the poetic arts and preserving the unique stories of the Golden State. Join the circle
About Ina Coolbrith
Ina Coolbrith was a central figure in California’s early literary scene and the state’s first Poet Laureate. As a long-time librarian and mentor to writers like Jack London, she crafted lyrical poetry that captured the natural beauty and spirit of the West. Learn more
The Circle’s State Library Collection
Our collection at the California State Library is a home for the creative work of our members. Explore an archive that honors our founder’s legacy while providing a permanent shelf for the books and chapbooks written by our Circle today. Learn more
Our Member Websites
Explore a collection of independent voices and artistic visions from across our Circle. While rooted in the written word, these member sites offer a unique map of our contemporary literary community and the many mediums our poets use today. Learn more
Ina Coolbrith landmarks
From the libraries of Oakland to the hills of San Francisco, Ina’s spirit is woven into the California landscape. Explore these landmarks to find where her story still lingers, immortalized in the beauty of the Golden State she so dearly loved. Learn more
Scheduled gatherings
Robert Lavett Smith lives in San Francisco. He holds a B.A. in French from Oberlin College in Ohio, where he also studied creative writing with Stuart Friebart and David Young. He received an M.A. in English from the University of New Hampshire, studying with Charles Simic and Mekeel McBride. At the 92nd Street YMHA in New York City, which had been established as a secular cultural, literary and spiritual space for the community, he joined the Master Class and studied with Galway Kinnell. Bob has authored four small-press chapbooks and five full-length works: 1) Everything Moves with a Disfigured Grace, 2) Smoke in Cold Weather: A Gathering of Sonnets, 3) The Widower Considers Candles, 4) Sturgeon Moon, and 5) Collected Early Poems.
We will join Bob on Saturday, Nov. 2, to celebrate his latest publication, This Late in the Season: Poems. Here I paraphrase and add a few words to the insightful comments on Bob’s book by Janet Wildung, author of The Archaeology of Negative Space:
In this latest collection, Robert Lavett Smith deftly revisits themes common in his preceding work: grief, death, anger, injustice, the past. But there is also something new, a profound longing for a world from which—through injury, illness, and age—he has become increasingly exiled. Almost entirely confined for the past six years to a small studio apartment, the room and the bit of space immediately outside his windows serve as the backdrop for many of the poems in this book. His loneliness, frustration, and dread are as keenly expressed as felt.
Despite all this, it’s not relentlessly grim. This tapestry of 93 poems is threaded with Bob’s signature black, or as it’s called lately, serious humor. Lighter moments of whimsey and poems about his beloved cat, Solstice, sparkle brilliantly amid the darkness to create a balanced collection. Spiderwebs receive the same attention as the stars, and something as simple as wind moving through the trees is beautifully exalted.
I want to add that Bob is a member of the Ina Coolbrith Circle and in his presentation, Bob will read some of the poems from his latest book, as well as sharing some of his newer poems.
Upcoming contests
Annual Poetry Contest
Description:
Submissions are closed for this year’s Annual Poetry Contest. Learn more about our contests or see our past winners.