Poetry and Memoir

Elizabeth Jacobson, fifth Santa Fe Poet Laureate, reads poetry, and is joined by author Zack Rogow reading from newly published memoir about his writer dad

Monday, October 12, 2026, 6:00 p.m.

Elizabeth Jacobson, who served as Santa Fe’s fifth Poet Laureate, will read with visiting California writer Zack Rogow at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, October 12 at Teatro Paraguas in Santa Fe. 

“This is a dynamic pairing of authors,” said Teatro Paraguas’ Artistic Director Argos MacCallum. “Both writers have made their homes in the West after growing up in New York. Elizabeth Jacobson and Zack Rogow combine that openness to life of the West with a New York edge and precision in their language.”

Jacobson said she was particularly looking forward to this reading: “I’m thrilled to be reading with Zack Rogow, and to discover how our backgrounds in Zen philosophy and practice intersect. Some of my work is environmental, and sharing these poems now seems especially relevant considering recent climatic devastations.” Jacobson will read from her two latest books, as well as her newest work.

Rogow shares Jacobson’s enthusiasm about the event: “It’s an honor to read with Elizabeth Jacobson. I’ve a huge fan of her poems. I’ll be talking about my recently published memoir, Hugging My Father’s Ghost: A Memoir of a Shortened Life. My dad, Lee Rogow, was a widely published writer and glamorous man-about-town in New York City in the 1950s. My father died when I was three, so this book is a way to explore the mystery of who he really was.”

The reading will take place in Teatro Paraguas’ Main Stage. Admission is free. Wine, soft drinks, and refreshments will be served.

Elizabeth Jacobson was the fifth poet laureate of Santa Fe and is an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow. Her newest collection, There Are as Many Songs in the World as Branches of Coral was published in 2025. Her previous book, Not into the Blossoms and Not into the Air (2019), won the New Measure Poetry Prize and the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award for both New Mexico Poetry and Best New Mexico Book. 

Zack Rogow is the author, editor, or translator of more than twenty books or plays. His memoir, Hugging My Father’s Ghost: A Memoir of a Shortened Life, was republished by Cirque Press in 2026. Zack’s tenth book of poems, The Kama Sutra for Senior Citizens and Other Poems on Aging, was published by Valley Press in the UK. His coauthored play, Colette Uncensored, has been performed on three continents. www.zackrogow.com