About Patti Sirens

Artist Statement
​
I once described the feeling of writing poetry and reading it aloud is like running in front of a speeding locomotive- a sense of urgency, trying to outrun the demons of difficult emotions and experiences while at the same time trying to outrun the act of forgetting them. I believe all experiences, positive and negative, are fuel and fodder for creating something of value, that people can relate to or resonate with in some way.
My poetry is deeply personal, but I try relate my own experience to something universal, a puzzle piece that fits into the bigger picture of things. In my poems I use all 6 senses to create a snapshot or portrait of a person, place, event, a moment frozen in time.
I try to capture the intricate details of a place or landscape, the dynamics of a relationship, or the feelings that caused me to write the poem in the first place. Recently, my poems have leaned towards memoir, recalling people, places, events from childhood or young adulthood, written from the vantage point of someone entering elderhood, hopefully with a bit of wisdom and humor, a reflection of lessons learned, and the irony of things. I strive to move the reader/listener either by the actual details of a poem, or by the emotions it evokes. It is my hope that you will resonate in some way with what I have written, that you will run with me in front of that speeding locomotive.
​
​​​​
​
Artist Bio
​
Patti Sirens grew up in and outside New York City, where she discovered her love of poetry, studied at St. Marks Poetry Project, played bass and toured in several punk bands, worked for a publishing company and fell in love with the ocean at the Jersey shore. She moved to Santa Cruz in 1989, where she continues to write and perform spoken word, and in the 1990s was a founding member of Tribe Through Time, a women’s poetry performance group. Her first book of poetry, Antarctica, was published by Burning Bush Publications in 2000. Her second book, Unrequited, was published by Uttered Chaos in 2019. When she is not busy butchering the English language, she can be found, on most days, boogie boarding or mat surfing at Steamer Lane, working at the Santa Cruz Public Library, riding her bike around town, dancing and dj’ing for several local dance events, and petsitting. She has volunteered for the Young Writers Program, Wilder Ranch feeding the farm animals, enjoys haphazard gardening, jigsaw puzzles, reading, loves Christmas, coffee, and an occasional pint of pilsner and shot of tequila, and is attempting, gracefully, to glide into elderhood. She considers the all the poets she has met through the local group Word Church one of her main inspiration