Paul J. Willis Poetry Reading

Paul J. Willis is a professor of English at Westmont College and a former poet laureate of Santa Barbara, California. Born in Fullerton, California, he grew up in Corvallis, Oregon.

He is the author of seven collections of poetry, most recently Somewhere to Follow (Slant, 2021). Paul served as poet laureate for the city of Santa Barbara from 2011 to 2013 and as artist-in-residence in North Cascades National Park from 2014 to 2015. He currently lives in California with his wife Sharon.