(Poet Laura Bayless reads at Old Capitol Books in Monterey in 2019. Photo copyright Robert Nielsen, 2019)
The Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium is a monthly reading series that seeks to showcase the finest talents of the diverse Central Coast literary community, from Big Sur to Santa Cruz to the Salinas Valley and beyond. Free hour-long readings featuring local-affiliated poets are held on the second Saturday of each month at the Pacific Grove Public Library, from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. All are welcome.
Created over 30 years ago as a chapter of the National Writers Union, this series is proud to be the oldest consistently running literary venue of its kind in the region. We have featured hundreds of poets, including local luminaries such as Monterey County Poet Laureates Marie Boucher, Rachelle Escamilla, and Daniel Summerhill; Monterey County Youth Poet Laureates Mahi Shah and Maram Haddad; Watsonville Poet Laureates Victoria Bañales and Robert Gómez; Santa Cruz County Poet Laureates Nancy Miller Gomez, Farnaz Fatemi, Danusha Laméris, David Swanger, and Robert Sward; and many other award-winning authors.
Over the years, our series has been graciously hosted by independent bookstores (such as Old Capitol Books in Monterey and the Thunderbird in Carmel) and coffeeshops (such as East Village Cafe in Monterey), prior to our current home at the Pacific Grove Public Library where we are graciously sponsored by the Whitney Latham Lechich Poetry Trust.
Please follow the Consortium's updates and announcements on Facebook, and enjoy 39 hours of archived Zoom readings from our 2020-23 seasons on YouTube.
If you are interested in more information, want to join our monthly mailing list, or would like to be considered as a future featured poet, please contact me via email.
Created over 30 years ago as a chapter of the National Writers Union, this series is proud to be the oldest consistently running literary venue of its kind in the region. We have featured hundreds of poets, including local luminaries such as Monterey County Poet Laureates Marie Boucher, Rachelle Escamilla, and Daniel Summerhill; Monterey County Youth Poet Laureates Mahi Shah and Maram Haddad; Watsonville Poet Laureates Victoria Bañales and Robert Gómez; Santa Cruz County Poet Laureates Nancy Miller Gomez, Farnaz Fatemi, Danusha Laméris, David Swanger, and Robert Sward; and many other award-winning authors.
Over the years, our series has been graciously hosted by independent bookstores (such as Old Capitol Books in Monterey and the Thunderbird in Carmel) and coffeeshops (such as East Village Cafe in Monterey), prior to our current home at the Pacific Grove Public Library where we are graciously sponsored by the Whitney Latham Lechich Poetry Trust.
Please follow the Consortium's updates and announcements on Facebook, and enjoy 39 hours of archived Zoom readings from our 2020-23 seasons on YouTube.
If you are interested in more information, want to join our monthly mailing list, or would like to be considered as a future featured poet, please contact me via email.
(Poet Laura Schulkind reads at the Pacific Grove Public Library in 2024. Photo copyright Robert Nielsen, 2024)
Our Staff:
Kent Leatham: Curator
John Laue: Founder & Curator-Emeritus
Jennifer Lagier: Outreach Coordinator
Robert Nielsen: Photographer & MC-Emeritus
Laura Bayless, John Dotson, & Garland Thompson: Advisory Team
Kent Leatham: Curator
John Laue: Founder & Curator-Emeritus
Jennifer Lagier: Outreach Coordinator
Robert Nielsen: Photographer & MC-Emeritus
Laura Bayless, John Dotson, & Garland Thompson: Advisory Team
 (Laura Bayless, John Dotson, Kent Leatham, & Robert Nielsen)
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(Kent Leatham & Jennifer Lagier)
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All Text & Images Copyright Kent Leatham, 2026 (unless otherwise attributed)
