Pacifica Poetry Night: Honoring the Life of Camincha Benvenutto

On Tuesday, July 29 from 6:00-7:30 PM over Zoom, you're invited to Pacifica Poetry Night, a celebration of local poetry and creative community. Virtually hosted by San Mateo County Libraries, this evening will begin with a reading honoring the life and work of the late Camincha Benvenutto, who served as Pacifica's Poet Laureate from 2017-2021. Friends and community members will share selections from Benvenutto's abundant work. The reading will be followed by a community open mic. You are invited to share a poem of your own, read a piece by a favorite poet, or simply listen alongside other literature lovers. To get your Zoom link, please fill out this registration form: https://forms.office.com/r/r2fqVBqj1a We hope to welcome as many readers as time allows, starting with those who sign up to read in advance. Remembering Camincha Benvenutto Appointed as Poet Laureate by the City of Pacifica in 2017, Camincha Benvenutto began her four-year term at age 83. Originally hailing from Miraflores, Lima, Peru, she called the United States her second home. A single mother, grandmother, multi-genre artist, and advocate for the arts and immigrant rights, she kept close to her roots and believed that “it is much easier to get where you want to go when you are proud of where you come from.” She was selected by KDTV for their segment “One of Ours” to honor her contributions to the Latin American community. A self-taught visual artist, she exhibited her works at SFSU and other venues around the Bay Area. She is also the author of three poetry chapbooks and the bilingual novel As Time Goes By (2013) / Con el Pasar del Tiempo (2015). A San Francisco Bay Guardian review notes that she “frames the ordinary in a way that makes it extraordinary, and that is real talent.” Her poems, short stories, and translated work in English and Spanish have been featured in various online and print media. She was a Litquake featured author from 2005 to 2008, and hosted a community writing group in her home in Pacifica for many years. Camincha earned her master’s degree in Spanish Literature and French from San Francisco State University in 1986. Her professional work as a translator and interpreter spanned a diverse range of roles. A prolific poet, she wrote poems since she was 13 and has over 300 poems that are still unpublished. Read more about Camincha and her role in Pacifica's literary community in this article from Coastside News: https://www.coastsidenews.com/community/the-truth-of-words/article_794c82e1-3e4d-50e0-b31c-b08f93682dc8.html

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