Jon M Obermeyer

Salsipuedes Jon M Obermeyer

The coastal California town of Santa Barbara has unique character and is full of unique characters. Ross MacDonald, Sue Grafton and T. C. Boyle put the town on the literary map, but there's more to the place than a quick weekend getaway for visitors from Encino or Evansville. These poems capture the spiritual and lyrical essence of a place usually known for celebrity sightings and soap operas. Delving deeper than mere nostalgia, ranging wider than tourist guide, with a quirky unique take on a unique place. 18 of these poems previously appeared Obermeyer's debut collection "The Reassurance of Ghosts" in 2016. Several poems had been published in literary journals including "1957" which first appeared in Spectrum (UCSB) in 1982 and in the 60th Anniversary Edition of Spectrum in 2017. While writing his Santa Barbara memoir 'It Happens That Fast" during the summer of 2017, the author found himself tapping into a rich vein of lyric material, and he ended up writing 24 new poems with a South Coast setting and vibe. Set in iconic Santa Barbara locations like More Mesa, Hilda Ray Park, Hammond's Reef, Maria Ignacio Creek and the Jesusita Trail in San Roque, Obermeyer renders a native's unique soundscape and image tapestry. The book's title "Salsipedes" ("Leave if you can") refers to an infamous East Santa Barbara street known historically for a swampy traveling, and as well as Obermeyer's departure in 1983 to live and write 2,600 miles away in North Carolina.