Sonoma County Literary Update

Archive

The Update welcomes announcements of interest to the Sonoma County literary community. Send text only (no attachments or PDFs please) by noon on the last day of the month to: editor@socolitupdate.com. No workshops, classes or readings, please. (Those are posted on the calendar or workshops pages.)

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Sebastopol LitCrawl 2025

Sonoma County’s largest, free pop-up literary event took place on Saturday, May 17, 2025, a six-hour pub crawl (and other venues) through downtown Sebastopol, bringing together over 200 authors at 30 events. A special event preceded the LitCrawl on Friday evening at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts: Acclaimed author Anita Gail Jones read from her novel The Peach Seed. Details and tickets: sebarts.org/litcrawl. To view the schedule and venues for the LitCrawl: litcrawlsebastopol2025.sched.com/venues

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Aqus Written Word Gathering

Aqus Written Word is an annual gathering of individuals and organizations involved in the art and industry of writing. Originally conceived by Diane Gentile and John Crowley, the event now includes many co-creators. It typically draws over 150 participants, including fiction and nonfiction writers, journalists, copywriters, screenwriters, playwrights, poets, book jacket designers, publishers, and technical writers. This year’s gathering takes place on April 9, 2025, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Event location: Petaluma Arts Center – 230 Lakeville St Petaluma. RSVP is required: https://aqus.com/writtenword

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Sonoma State Community Writers Festival

Thursday, April 4, 2025, 4:00-9:00 p.m. 

The Sonoma Community Writers Festival is a collaboration between English and Creative Writing faculty and students at Sonoma State University, the Zaum literary magazine staff, and various local independent literary organizations. The mission of the festival is to offer more opportunities for the Bay Area literary community to assemble, network and celebrate diverse voices. Festival programming will occur in the Student Center and other locations on the SSU campus, with scheduled readings and panels in both ballroom and classroom environments, as well as workshop spaces devoted to collaborative writing. There will also be a table bazaar for organizations and publishers to promote their services and products.

No registration is required. The festival is free and open to the public.
Details: english.sonoma.edu/community-writers-festival

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2024 Poesía del Recuerdo/Poetry of Remembrance Community Reading

On Friday, October 11, from 6:00 to 8:30 PM, members of the community are invited to attend the annual Día de los Muertos “Poesía del Recuerdo / Poetry of Remembrance” celebration. We are pleased to announce that this year’s event will take place at Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 20 4^th Street, Petaluma.

Our featured speakers include Lalin the Poet (Luis Vasquez), Gina Tello Bugarin, Irma Vega Bijou, Maria Mandolini, and Jabez Churchill. Our host for the evening will be Sonoma County Poet Laureate Dave Seter.

We hope that you, too, will participate in the celebration by sharing, in Spanish or English or any other language, a brief poem or remembrance of a departed loved one.

Those who wish to honor the memory of someone are encouraged to bring something—a photo or an item that reminds them of their loved one—that can be placed on a community altar.

Poetry of Remembrance/Poesía del Recuerdo is part of the month-long Día de los Muertos celebrations held in Petaluma during the months of October and November, featuring community altars, bilingual storytelling, sugar skull workshops, music, dance, and a procession with giant puppets.

Admission is free. For more information about Día de Los Muertos events, check out Facebook at El Día de Los Muertos Petaluma.

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Sonoma County Finding History Day 2024

Saturday, November 2, 2024, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. FREE
Veterans Memorial Building
1351 Maple Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95404

The Sitting Room Library will join with over 30 local historical and cultural organizations to explore the rich historical heritage of our region. Look for our table, laden with anthologies, bookmarks, treasures and our volumes of Obituaries. This year we will share the space with Jessi Haley of Cita Press, (citapress.org) a feminist indie press publishing open access books written by women.

For more information and directions: sonomacountyhistory.org/findinghistoryday

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Petaluma Regional Library Closes for Modernization

The Petaluma Regional Library closes June 30 for a top-to-bottom remodel, a project that will update the library and improve your experience. The Petaluma Mini Library will open next door (Kenilworth Teen Center) on July 8, 2024 at 10:00 am.

The week of July 1-July 7, both locations will be closed while the essentials are moved to the temporary location. Details at: sonomalibrary.org/visit/librarymodernization

Remember that the Online Library never closes. Enjoy thousands of eBooks, eAudiobooks, films, TV shows, databases, magazines, newspapers, classes, and more. Check out these amazing resources at: sonomalibrary.org/elibrary

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Lit Crawl Sebastopol on April 13, 2024

Sebastopol Center for the Arts presents Lit Crawl Sebastopol, Sonoma County’s newest literary pub crawl, featuring over 119 Bay Area authors during its four hours of literary mayhem.

Litcrawl will draw hundreds of readers, writers, and revelers to crawl through downtown Sebastopol listening to readings and celebrating Sonoma County’s literary community. Litcrawl takes place on Saturday, April 13, 2024, 2:00-6:00 p.m.

More details: sebarts.org/litcrawl

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Editor’s Choice Award to Donna Emerson

Donna Emerson received an Editor’s Choice Award in the Allen Ginsberg annual contest from Editor Maria Mazziotti Gillan at the Poetry Center, Paterson, New Jersey, February 3, 2024, Her poem “Sarah Mae” will appear in the Awards section of the Paterson Literary Review Journal, #52, forthcoming in June, 2024.

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Book Clubs for Everyone

Sonoma County Library offers book clubs at many of its branches, as well as virtual book clubs. Build community and explore new perspectives at one—or more!—of its book clubs. From memoir to mystery, they’ve got something for everyone. Click here for book club listings on the events calendar.

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Mark Tate Wins Blue Light Book Award

Congratulations to Sonoma County poet Mark Tate whose collection Walking Scarecrow was selected for the 2023 Blue Light Book Award. Mark is the author of three previous books of poetry Pommes de Terre (2001), Sur lie* (2002), and Rooms and Doorways (2003), and three novels, Beside the River, and its sequel River’s End (McCaa Books, 2021), and Butterfly on the Wheel (McCaa Books, 2022). He served for ten years on the Sonoma County Poet Selection Committee for the poets laureate of our county. He is a long-time resident of Northern California where he lives with his wife, Lori. 

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Not Your Mother’s Storytime (Update)

“Not Your Mother’s Storytime,” a podcast by Jennifer March, founder of Petaluma Readers Theater, received a silver award as well as Listener’s Choice Award for the 2023 Signal Awards in the category of Scripted Fiction. Listen to the podcast on KPCA FM or online at: notyourmothersstorytime.com/podcast

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Jack London Award 2023

The California Writers Club (CWC) is proud to announce that Crissi Langwell, a dedicated member of the Redwood Writers branch, has been honored with the esteemed Jack London Award for 2023. This award is given biennially to a CWC member who has demonstrated outstanding service to their branch. She received her award at a luncheon ceremony in October 2023.

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Awards Received by Renée Owen

(announced in 2023):
“dust motes,” Honorable Mention in the San Francisco International Haiku Contest 2022
*”hydrangea petals,” Runner Up in Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar Competition 2023

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A Note From Songwriter Stephen Altschuler

Normally, I concentrate on writing books these days, but I’ve been a songwriter for many years who has done nothing commercial with my songs…except, now, in my retirement from social service, I leap into the fray of the music business. I’ve had demos made of two of my songs which I offer here to this august group of writers (lyrics are my strength). They are, wonder of wonders, available to hear on just about any streaming service, including Spotify, Apply iTunes, and YouTube. Just type in my full name, Stephen Altschuler, and you’ll be taken to Stones and Cruisin’ West Out of Vegas. Click a like or a follow if you enjoy them, at no charge. What’s next? Since I’m not a performer, I’ll be submitting them to music producers who, I hope, can find a performer who might take a liking to these songs, and others languishing in my computer. Who says you can’t start a new writing venture in retirement!
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Paterson Poetry Center Award to Donna Emerson

The Poetry Center in Paterson, NJ, which hosts the Allen Ginsberg Awards every February, has awarded Donna Emerson’s poem “Sarah Mae” an Editors’ Choice Award. It will be published in the Paterson Literary Review this summer, and Donna will read her poem, along with other winners at the awards ceremony in February 2024.

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Bruce Johnson — In Memoriam

Bruce Johnson, renowned local sculptor and long time friend of the Sonoma County History Museum passed away during a tragic accident at his studio on February 14, 2023. Well-known throughout the county for his large scale redwood and steel creations, Bruce will be remembered for his kindness and jovial spirit. We are deeply saddened by this loss. 

Elizabeth Herron, the current poet laureate of Sonoma County and long time friend of Bruce wrote a a short “pocket poem” upon learning of his passing that she wishes to share.

“Losing a dear friend/we must be brave/remembering/laughter through tears.”

For those who wish to learn more about Bruce, his life, and the incredible art he created (including Poetry House, a collaboration between Bruce and Elizabeth) we’ve included some links below.

Form and Energy: Bruce’s Website
Press Democrat Article
Documentary by Kirsten Dirksen

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World News, Free with Your Library Card

Read current news with online newspapers and magazines from around the world in dozens of languages!

Sonoma County Library cardholders now have quick and easy access to PressReader, a news resource with more than 7,000 newspapers and magazines to choose from.

PressReader features national and international news from 120 countries in a browsable and visual format that is available for use on any computer or device with a browser and internet access.

With PressReader, you can save and download publications to read later, listen to content out loud, and even have your news translated into a different language. Try it out at: https://sonomalibrary.org/library-collection/pressreader

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Sonoma County Library Offers Express Services

Beginning April 26, the Sonoma County Library is offering in-person Express Services six days a week (plus Sundays at Central Santa Rosa Library). Express Services allows those who have limited access to our online library, or who miss their in-person library experience, to join us in reopening gradually and safely. Eleven regional libraries are open twice a day, for one-hour sessions, at less-than-normal capacity. Reservations are encouraged and are available here.

In-Person Service Schedule:
Monday, Tuesday: 1-2 pm and 5-6 pm
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 11 am-12 pm and 3-4 pm
Central Santa Rosa Library will also be open on Sundays from 3-4 pm

As the county moves into higher tiers and more people are vaccinated, library services will continue to expand. We will still offer services online and by telephone. Learn more: https://sonomalibrary.org/express

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Sonoma County Library’s Free Digital Newsstand

Your Sonoma County Library card unlocks access to the world’s largest digital newsstand? Our digital magazine collection is now on OverDrive and the Libby app (Digital magazines were previously hosted through RBdigital.) Digitally stream popular and new issues of magazines like The New Yorker, The Week Magazine, Us Weekly, New Scientist, Cooks Illustrated, and The Economist.

Explore thousands of current and back magazine issues today! 

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Sonoma County Library Announces Enki: An eBook Platform from Librarians

Expand your eBook experience with Enki! This statewide eBook service contains more than 90,000 eBooks in all areas of fiction and non-fiction, for children, teens, and adults. Enki is a free, open-source eBook platform created by libraries for libraries. It is named after the Sumerian god of mischief, intelligence and creativity. There are never any holds or wait for Enki eBooks.

Enki features:

• Graphic novels and comics
• Children’s books
• Mysteries, romance novels, horror, and thrillers
• Spanish titles
• Crafting and gardening reads
• Classic literature
• Indie writers
• Short stories and essays
• Encyclopedias

Explore Enki at: https://scl.enkilibrary.org

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Petaluma Poetry Walk 2023 

This year’s featured poets will be reading at the following venues (Download a brochure here):

• Hotel Petaluma, 11 AM: Kary Hess, Matthew M. Monte, Joseph Zaccardi
• Artaluma, noon: Melissa Eleftherion, Jack Crimmins, David Rollison
• The Big Easy, 1 PM: Charlie Getter, Gail Mitchell, Kurt Schweigman
• Oli Gallery, 2 PM: Anita Erola, Connie Post, Dr. Jeanne Powell
• Copperfields, 3 PM: Kim Shuck, Maw Shein Win
• Phoenix Theater, 4 PM: MK Chavez, Gail Entrekin, Steve Trenam
• Petaluma Historical Museum, 5 PM: Tony Aldarondo, Georgina Gabriela Tello Bugarin, Ernesto M. Garay
• Aqus Café, 6-8 PM: Iris Jamahl Dunkle, Terry Ehret, Elizabeth C. Herron, Maya Khosla, Phyllis Meshulam, Gwynn O’Gara.

The complete schedule and bios of poets are posted at: www.petalumapoetrywalk.org

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Redwood Writers Club Welcomes New Members

Whether you are a published author or have always wanted to write, there’s a place for you at Redwood Writers, a branch of California Writers Club. New member enrollment is open from July 1 through September 30. For more information and to join: redwoodwriters.org/membership/join/

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Redwood Writers Club 2023 Poetry Contest Winners

Redwood Writers announces the winners of its 2023 Poetry Contest, open to all California Writers Club members. Awards presentations were made at the Redwood Writers Club monthly meeting on April 15 to:

1st Place – Kate Adams, San Francisco Peninsula CWC, for “Snowfall”
2nd Place – Dana Rodney, Redwood Writers CWC, for “Childhood Friend”
3rd Place – Mark Meierding, Redwood Writers CWC for “Late Summer in California Hills”

Honorary Mentions:
Fran Carbonaro, Megan McDonald, Dana Rodney, Pamela Singer

For more details and to read the winning poems, click here: https://redwoodwriters.org/2023-poetry-contest-winners

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California Poets in the Schools (Sonoma) Seeking Poet-Teachers for Youth K-12

California Poets in the Schools (CalPoets) seeks independent contractors to work on a contract or freelance basis as Poet-Teachers in Sonoma County. CalPoets’ Poet-Teachers are professional writers who choose to share their skills and knowledge with their communities as Poet-Teachers. They should have demonstrated experience in the literary arts and be passionate about teaching school-aged youth in public school settings. New CalPoets’ Poet-Teachers are paired with experienced mentors to prepare for classroom placement. This is a great opportunity for poets at all stages of their careers. Most Poet-Teachers achieve 1-5 teaching contracts per school year.

Duties and responsibilities, requirements and qualifications, perks/compensation and a link to the application may be found on the calpoets.org site. Click on the Submittable link at the bottom of that web page to apply. 

About California Poets in the Schools:
VISION: California Poets in the Schools’ vision is to enable youth in every California county to discover, cultivate and amplify their own creative voices through reading, analyzing, writing, performing and publishing poetry. When students learn to express their creativity, imagination, and intellectual curiosity through poetry, it becomes a catalyst for learning core academic subjects, accelerating emotional development and supporting personal growth. Our Poet-Teachers help students become adults who will bring compassion, understanding and appreciation for diverse perspectives to dialogue about issues which their communities face.

MISSION: California Poets in the Schools develops and empowers a multicultural network of independent Poet-Teachers, who bring the many benefits of poetry to youth throughout the state. As a membership network we offer opportunities for professional development, peer learning and fundraising assistance for Poet-Teachers in California. We also cultivate relationships with school districts, foundations and arts organizations which can fund and support our members’ professional practices.

For more information, visit www.calpoets.org

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C&R Press Award for Joan Frank 

Congratulations to Sonoma County author Joan Frank who has received a C&R Press 2021 award for her novel Juniper Street. The prize is $1,000 and and publication. www.crpress.org/cr-press-2021-awards

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Two New Book Stores on the Russian River

Russian River Books & Letters is a newly opened bookstore in Guerneville (next to Coffee Bazaar) on Armstrong Woods Rd. Pat Nolan reports it’s a terrific “well-lighted” space with plenty of new titles in all genres. Stay tuned for special events including music, readings, open mics, book clubs, and writing workshops. The proprietor, Michael, is very interested in promoting local authors. He can be reached at story@booksletters.com or 707-604-7197 Details: https://www.booksletters.com

Poet’s Corner Book Store in Duncans Mills, a “charming curated book shop,” is the smallest bookstore in the county. Open since November 2020. Details: https://poetscornerbookshop.com

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From Page to Film

“Roots in My Garden,” a story published in Sonoma County author Jo Lauer’s book, Returning: A Collection of Stories, is being adapted to film by Reel Freedom Film Company. The film deals with the devastating landmark court case regarding lesbian parenting rights that took place here in Sonoma County.

https://seedandspark.com/fund/rootsinmygarden

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2021 IPPY Gold Medal for Joan Frank

Where You’re All Going: Four Novellas, by Sonoma County author Joan Frank (Sarabande Books) has won the 2021 Gold Medal for Short Story Fiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards. This year’s medalists represent 46 U.S. states and seven Canadian provinces with winners also coming from U.K. and Australia, plus New Zealand, Ireland, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Jamaica and Malawi. More details at: https://independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=2478

Her book is available from Sarabande Books: www.sarabandebooks.org/titles-20192039/where-youre-all-going-joan-frank 

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Touchstone Foundation 2020 Distinguished Book Award

Renée Owen’s poetry collection, This One Life (Backbone Press) has been short-listed for a Touchstone Foundation 2020 Distinguished Book Award. Details: https://thehaikufoundation.org/touchstone-awards-for-2020/#1601161668063-0d96ef73-eedb

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2021 Northern California Book Awards

Sonoma County authors have been nominated for a Northern California Book Award this year for books published in 2020. This year’s nominees include and Joan Frank in Creative Nonfiction (Try to Get Lost: Essays on Travel and Place,  University of New Mexico Press) and John Johnson, Nancy Morales, and Terry Ehret in California Translation in Poetry (Plagios/Plagiarisms, translated from the Spanish of Ulalume Gonzalez de Leon, Sixteen Rivers Press). https://sfpl.org/events/2021/07/11/celebration-northern-california-book-awards

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Reverberations:two—A Visual Conversation

April 9 to May 15, 2022
Ekphrastic poetry is poetry inspired by a work of art. In 2018, Sebastopol Center for the Arts premiered “Reverberations: A Visual Conversation,” an exhibition in which poetry was written in response to pieces of artwork.

Reverberations:two A Visual Conversation reverses this dynamic, asking artists to create a piece of artwork in response to poems. Each artist in the exhibit was given a different poem to respond to.

To be honest, we weren’t quite sure it was going to work. Would it be possible for artists to work with a never-before-seen poem and create new work in the limited time of few months? To our astonishment, more than 200 visual artists responded to our open call, from which 50 were selected. The poets were selected by poet Charlie Pendergast, who encouraged us to do this second Reverberations show.

The resulting collaboration between poetry and visual arts is the focus of Reverberations:two, which will be showing at Sebastopol Center for the Arts from April 9 to May 15.

You are invited to the opening reception: April 9, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

We have created a beautiful companion book (above, right) for the exhibition, which will be available at the SebARTS gallery shop. More details: www.sebarts.org/exhibits
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Nominations are open for Sonoma County’s 12th Poet Laureate. Deadline: April 15, 2022

The Poet Laureate is a Sonoma County resident who has demonstrated a commitment to the literary arts in the County. The Poet Laureate often participates in official ceremonies and readings and receives a $2,000 stipend payable in yearly $1,000 increments.

Nominations for Poet Laureate require that the poet be a resident of Sonoma County whose poetry manifests a high degree of excellence and who has produced a critically acclaimed body of work. The nominee must also have demonstrated an active commitment to the literary arts in Sonoma County, must propose and perform a project of their own creation, and must agree to participate in official ceremonies and poetry events.

The Sonoma County Poet Laureate is chosen by a distinguished panel with a profound knowledge of, and an active dedication to, the life of poetry in Sonoma County. Members of the Selection Panel represent the five Sonoma County Supervisory Districts, Sonoma State University, Santa Rosa Junior College, and Sonoma County Library. Each member of this panel has a proven passion for poetry and a history of enriching the life of poetry in our community.

Nomination guidelines: www.sebarts.org/poet-laureate
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Sonoma County Poetry Out Loud Contest

Sunday, January 30, 2022 6:00 – 9:00 pm, FREE

Sonoma State University, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, Student Center Ballroom B, Third Floor

Please contact Jodi Hottel, hottel@sonic.net

Poetry Out Loud, www.poetryoutloud.org, is a national recitation program for high school students, initiated by the National Endowment for the Arts, sponsored in all of California by the California Arts Council and in Sonoma County by California Poets in the Schools, Creative Sonoma, and Sonoma County Vintners Foundation. Students select poems from a large online anthology and deliver heart-felt, often mesmerizing oral interpretations of great poems.

The county winner will advance to the state competition. There is no cost to the school or the students to participate. The high schools involved this year are:, John Muir Charter, Maria Carrillo, Petaluma, Piner, Rancho Cotate, Roseland University Prep, Santa Rosa, and West County.

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County-Wide Poetry Anthology

Edited by Phyllis Meshulam, current county poet laureate.

Three sections will be based on Joanna Macy’s “the work that reconnects.” Macy, an environmental activist and translator of Rilke, starts with the concept of “gratitude,” then moves to “honoring our pain for the world,” then “seeing with new eyes.”

One goal of this book will be to look at some of our foundational texts and the places we may have been led astray by them. An example is Aeschylus’s Apollo denying a woman’s role in creating a child. Or conversely, some texts may have provided good warnings but we may have forgotten their message. We can talk back to some texts, while re-broadcasting others. 

Most of the prompts included in Phyllis’ columns so far are likely to generate poems that would be appropriate for this anthology. March, February (though for February you’ll have to watch the videos to find them), January (these are aimed more at school-age students, but could spark you, too), December, July, May. As in this list, the months appear in descending order. December – May are from 2020. The archived poet laureate columns referenced here are at: https://socolitupdate.com/poet-laureates-news/laureate-archive-2020-2022

The deadline is September 1, unless you are a teen or have a poem in Spanish. In that case, the deadline is September 15, 2021. Please send submissions with COUNTY ANTHOLOGY SUBMISSION in the subject line. Send up to three poems as an attachment to phyllie@sonic.net. Put a brief bio in the body of the email. The book is expected to be published by April 2022.

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Report from Sonoma County Public Library Foundation

For years there have been increases in digital checkouts through the Sonoma County Library. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the trend, with digital checkouts of eBooks and eAudiobooks as well as streaming of movies and online classes increasing immediately upon the March Shelter-in-Place orders.

The Library Foundation is dedicating to helping the Library provide resources to those who need it most. Right now there is a gap between those that have access to WiFi and digital resources and those who do not. That’s why we recently donated $75,000 to close the gap.

Part of the funds will go towards expanding access to Hoopla, the widely popular digital platform. The $20,000 donated by the Library Foundation will bring Hoopla access to 60,000 children.

Part of the funds will go towards expanding Spanish-language digital resources. We recently donated $15,000 to add Spanish language eBooks and eAudiobooks to the Library’s collection, since digital resources are so high in demand currently.

The remaining $40,000 will be used to extend WiFi from the Library branches. Although patrons are not allowed inside the Library yet, WiFi extension will allow people to use free Library WiFi from the parking lot, courtyard, and nearby public spaces outside the branches. This initial investment in WiFi extension will start the process of extending WiFi from the library. We still need $30,000 to extend WiFi from all the branches. When you donate to the Library Foundation this holiday season, you help provide free WiFi access for your neighbors 24/7 at your local Library branch. Donate here: https://www.scplf.org/donate-now

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Poetrees Santa Rosa

California Poets in the Schools (CalPoets) warmly welcomes you to Poetrees Santa Rosa — a public poetry project located in Old Courthouse Square beginning April 3rd, 2021. At Poetrees Santa Rosa, all voices are celebrated — especially yours! Take a poem. Write your own and tie it to the Poetrees. Poetrees Santa Rosa will be installed on April 3rd, and will remain in place throughout the month of April — National Poetry Month. More details at: www.californiapoets.org/poetrees-santa-rosa

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SLAM 2020: A Sonoma County Virtual Teen Poetry Slam

Saturday, December 12, 2020, 3:00-5:00 p.m.

This virtual Sonoma County-wide event is open to performers between the ages of 13-19, and teens will also serve as the emcees, judges, and scorekeepers. All ages are welcome to attend to cheer on our talented teens!
Prizes will be awarded to the three top-scoring poets. Video submissions of your spoken word poetry are due by Saturday, November 14 and should be submitted using this form.

If you have any questions or are interested in being a judge, please email temerson@sonomalibrary.org.

Registration is required. Participants will receive the necessary Zoom information 30 minutes before the event starts. A recording of the event will be available on YouTube after the event.

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Sonoma County Loves to Read

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Sonoma County Youth Poet Laureate 2020-21

Zoya Ahmed, an incoming senior at Maria Carrillo High School, was chosen as our Youth Poet Laureate by a panel of judges: outstanding local poets and teachers from around the county, including Maya Khosla, our just previous County Poet Laureate. The Sonoma County program is organized by California Poets in the Schools. Zoya was the 2019 winner of Sonoma County’s Poetry Out Loud recitation contest and went on to become a finalist in the California State Poetry Out Loud contest. She was also the first winner of the state-wide Poetry Ourselves contest, competing against other POL county-wide champions from around the state, each with an original poem. More details may be found in Phyllis Meshulam’s June 2020 Poet Laureate’s News column.

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Sonoma County Public Library Now Offering Curbside Pickup

Beginning June 1, Sonoma County Library is offering curbside pickup for books, DVDs, CDs, and other library materials. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday, curbside pickup is available at five library branches, in Guerneville, Sonoma, Windsor, Rohnert Park, and at the Central Library in downtown Santa Rosa.

Request your items online or by calling your favorite curbside pickup location between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday. (You may also leave a message any time by calling 707-308-3262; someone will return your call within 24 hours.) Library patrons will be required to observe social distancing and facial covering guidelines while picking up library materials outside each library.

Curbside pickup does not currently include curbside returns. All due dates have been extended, and you are asked to hold on to your returns for now. Learn more: https://sonomalibrary.org/library-curbside-pickup

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Sonoma County Public Library’s Digital Resources

The library branches may be closed, but incredible digital resources are available 24/7! This includes resources for learning foreign languages, job skills, children’s enrichment, eBooks, eAudiobooks, movies, eMagazines, music, tutoring, and more. Those resources are available to everyone with a library card. Even if Sonoma County residents don’t have a library card, they can register for a new one online and when library branches reopen, they can pick up their physical card. To access all the eResources: https://sonomalibrary.org/eresources

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Sonoma County’s Newest Poet Laureate

Welcome to our new Poet Laureate, Phyllis Meshulam. A long-time resident of Sonoma County, she has published four collections of poetry, most recently Land of My Father’s War, which won the Artists’ Embassy International Award. Her work has appeared in many literary journals and anthologies, including Ars Medica,; Bullets into Bells; Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace; and What Redwoods Know. Phyllis is also the editor of Poetry Crossing, CalPoet’s 50th anniversary lesson plan book, an inspirational resource for writers and teachers. 

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Sonoma County 2020 Poetry Out Loud winners

Congratulations to Sonoma County 2020 Poetry Out Loud winners! Jessica Spano (center) from Petaluma High School took first place honors in the Poetry Out Loud competition on February 10th at the Central Sonoma County Library. First runner up was Hazel Jacome (left) from Piner High School and Megan Roman (right) from Analy High School took third place. All thirteen county contestants offered stellar recitations of great poems.

Jessica represented Sonoma County at the State finals on March 15th and 16th, which were held as a virtual event. The Poetry Outloud state champion is from Sacramento County and the Poetry Ourselves first-place winner from Napa. Details at:  http://arts.ca.gov/news/prdetail.php?id=304

Many thanks to the partners and sponsors who helped to make the 2020 Sonoma County Poetry Out Loud program a success: Creative Sonoma, National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, Sonoma County Vintners and the Santa Rosa Symphony.

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Meeting Space!

The Sitting Room community library would like Book Groups to know that they would be welcome to hold their meetings here. There is comfortable seating for up to 10 people and parking too. We are open from 9 to 5 Mondays – Saturdays, but are happy to make arrangements for other time slots also. If interested in arranging a trial meeting, please call us at 707 795-9028 or email us at boxcar@sonic.net. The atmosphere is right (and people wont have to straighten up their houses for the occasional occasion). We are right next to Sonoma State University at 2025 Curtis Drive, Penngrove, 94951. Check out our website: www.SittingRoom.org for directions and to get a feel for the place.

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WordTemple Redux!

Sonoma County poet laureate emerita, Katherine Hastings, has morphed WordTemple — her former reading series and radio program — into a blog with, in part, the intention of bringing California and New York poets (and beyond) together. The initial blog featured a poem from Jodi Hottel’s recent chapbook, Out of the Ashes. Most recently, poems from Rochester poet Charles Cote’s full length collection, I Play His Red Guitar, are posted along with a statement by Cote on how these poems arrived after his teenaged son died of cancer. If you would like to check out the blog, go to www.wordtemple.com. Katherine would love for you to subscribe.

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Announcing the Search for a Youth Poet Laureate for Sonoma County

Sonoma County California Poets in the Schools plans to follow the lead of the nation, the state and sister counties (Alameda, Los Angeles and Ventura) in acknowledging a student who has achieved excellence in poetry, allowing them to be a leader for the county in raising the profile of poetry and developing its audience.

Specifics:

• This student should be between the ages of 13 and 19.
• They must be a county resident who expects to remain in the county between May of 2020 and May of 2021.
• They should also have demonstrated their commitment to literary arts and community engagement through participation in volunteer and community service, clubs, after-school activities, and extra academic activities.
• California Poets in the Schools will implement this as a regional partner of Urban Word, the nation-wide program.
• The Youth Poet Laureate will serve a one year term and is expected to participate in at least four public functions.
• YPL will receive a $500 stipend and a publishing contract for a chapbook of their work, or an anthology that includes their work and that of other finalists.
• A grant to support this program has already been obtained from the Bill Graham foundation.

Procedure:

• YPL nominations may come from any organization or individual.
• Application (available at www.californiapoets.org/youth-poet-laureate-program) must be submitted by March 13 to californiapoets@gmail.com or, if student has no means to apply online, to California Poets in the Schools – Youth Poet Laureate Submission, PO Box 1328, Santa Rosa, CA 95402
• With the application, three of the student’s poems must be submitted, totaling no more than ten pages.
• For finalists, an adult sponsor will be required to provide a letter of support.
• A committee of respected local poets will review applications and choose finalists.
• Finalists will be asked to attend a judging session so that their ability to present their poems effectively (as well as writing good poems) can be assessed.

The winner will be announced in late April.

The inauguration will occur on May 2, from 2:00–4:00 p.m., in conjunction with a county-wide poetry reading by youth at the Santa Rosa Central Library.

For more information, please contact Meg@CPITS.org

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Favorite Poem Community Reading

Sunday, April 5, 2020, 2:00 p.m.
Sebastopol Center for the Arts
ALL EVENTS POSTPONED

The Sebastopol Center for the Arts will once again host a Favorite Poem Community Reading. Modeled on the readings initiated by former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, and hosted locally by Jodi Hottel and Larry Robinson, this event will bring together a wide range of people and poems into one memorable event.

You are invited to submit a copy of your single favorite poem, famous or otherwise, one that is not written by you, a friend or relative, but one that you have read, perhaps many times, or learned by heart, and to which you feel a personal attachment, along with a brief statement about the poem’s significance in your life. The poem and introductory statement should take no more than 3 minutes for you to read or recite.

Please send an email to Gwynn O’Gara at gwynn@gwynnogara.com. Include the subject “Favorite Poem Reading” in the subject heading. Send your name, phone # and email address, and submit your selection in either Word or a web link. Be sure to include the name of the author of the poem. There is no entry fee, and entries should be received no later than March 8.

This is our 17th annual event. The event is free, and refreshments will be served. Whether you submit a poem to share or not, we invite you to come to what is sure to be a wonderful celebration of the community’s love of language and poetry.

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Sonoma County Poetry Out Loud — Our 14th year of county participation!

This oral recitation competition of famous poetry is sponsored through generous funding from the CAC, California Poets in the Schools, Creative Sonoma and the Vintners Foundation.

When:  Monday, February 10, 2020
Time:  6:00-9:00 p.m.
Where: Downtown Santa Rosa Library
               211 E. Street, Santa Rosa, CA
Emcee: David Beckman
Admission is free.
 
We are excited to have students from twelve Sonoma County high schools competing:  Analy, Casa Grande, Creekside, El Molino, Maria Carillo, Petaluma, Piner, Rancho Cotate, Roseland Collegiate Prep, Roseland University Prep, Santa Rosa, and Sonoma Academy.
 
For questions, please contact: County Coordinator, Jackie Huss Hallerberg, jackiehallerberg@earthlink.net

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Awards and Nominations

Donna Emerson‘s poem “Long Distance” has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize by the  Marin Poetry Anthology, where it was published in September, 2019.

Gwynn O’Gara‘s poetry manuscript Clio’s Daughter With Head on Fire has won 1st Place and a $1,000 grant—the 2019 Shirley Holden Helberg Grant for Mature Women (35 and older)—awarded by the National League of American Pen Women, Phil Memmer, Judge. The manuscript is also a Finalist in The Faulkner Society 2019 Poetry Collection Contest. Gwynn was Sonoma County Poet Laureate in 2010-2011.

Peg Alford Pursell‘s A Girl Goes into the Forest has been long-listed for the Northern California Golden Poppy Book Awards. Her story “In the Beginning” (included in the book) has been nominated by The Gravity Is the Thing for the 2020 Best American Short Stories anthology, the 2020 Pushcart Prize anthology, and the 2019 Best of the Net anthology, and The Museum of Americana nominated “A Man with Horses” for the 2019 Best of the Net Anthology.

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URGENT: The Free Bookmobile of Sonoma County Needs a New Bookmobile

The beloved big green truck must be phased out due to new CA air quality regulations. Good bookmobiles are scarce out there on the used market and new ones are extremely expensive. So they’re going to build their own and have already tracked down a great base model box truck to convert. Please consider making a generous donation toward this goal! All the money will stay local as Sonoma County vendors are lined up to do the conversion work. Read more about it and make a donation here: https://fundrazr.com/bookmobile. If you prefer to send a check, please make it out to “Free Bookmobile” and mail to:
Free Bookmobile
PO Box 1402
Santa Rosa, CA 95402

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Winners of “Discovered: Emerging Artists of Sonoma County” Program Announced

Exhibition to open November 22, 2019 at Museum of Sonoma County.
Ten Sonoma County artists are being recognized through the fifth “Discovered Awards for Emerging Visual and Literary Artists of Sonoma County” program, produced by Creative Sonoma and funded by Community Foundation Sonoma County. Five visual and five literary artists were selected from a pool of applicants from all corners of the County. Literary arts winners are: Leilani Clark (Santa Rosa), non-fiction; Ernesto Garay (Sebastopol), poetry; Chelsea Rose Kurnick (Windsor), poetry; Joy Lanzendorfer (Petaluma), fiction; and Nicole Irene Zimmerman (Penngrove), non-fiction. Literary Runners-up: Sean Marks (Petaluma), non-fiction; Shawna Swetech (Forestville), poetry; Elizabeth Nordlinger (Sonoma), fiction; Cass Pursell (Santa Rosa) fiction; and Loretta Carpio Carr (Sonoma), non-fiction.

Go Fund Petaluma Poetry Walk

The annual Petaluma Poetry Walk, which takes place every September all over downtown Petaluma, needs to raise funds for the event. A grant from Poets & Writers provided in previous years was not available at all in 2018; this year it’s been reinstated, but for only $500. The Sitting Room has once again generously stepped up to the plate by providing an umbrella of non-profit status to qualify the Walk for fundraising on GoFundMe. All you poetry lovers can step up, too, at: www.gofundme.com/f/petaluma-poetry-walk-2019. You may also mail a check to PO Box 526, Petaluma, CA 94952-0526. This year the Walk takes off on September 15, 11 a.m. at the Hotel Petaluma. Updates will be posted at: www.petalumapoetrywalk.org

Update on 2019 Poetry Out Loud Contest in Sonoma County

The winner of the Sonoma County, February 11, 2019 Poetry Out Loud contest was Zoya Ahmed, a 10th grader from Maria Carrillo High School. She went on to make it to the final round of competition at the statewide finals in Sacramento in March, only one of about 15 students out of 51 to advance. The California Arts Council, for the first time this year, invited county champions to submit an original poem of their own for a new “Poetry Ourselves” contest. And Ahmed came in first in the state in this contest. You can read more about her, and even read her winning poem at this link to the Press Democrat article: www.pressdemocrat.com/lifestyle/9441895-181/maria-carillo-sophomore-wins-top

Books & Brews at Santa Rosa Central Library
Saturday, June 8, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

The Sonoma County Public Library Foundation invites you to a fundraiser for our library system. Get a chance to experience the Santa Rosa Central Library at night with a beer in hand. The new Director of the Sonoma County Library, Ann Hammond, will give her vision of the future of the library system. We will share exciting projects the Foundation is funding and innovative new ideas from Library staff, including an electric piano, blender bike, and more! Come play the piano, ride the bike, drink some beer, nibble some appetizers, and enjoy your local public library. We’ll see you there! Santa Rosa Central Library 211 E St, Santa Rosa. $75 Ticket price includes entry to the event along with beer and appetizers. https://booksandbrewssantarosa.brownpapertickets.com/

Favorite Poem Community Reading
Saturday, May 11, 2019, 2:00 p.m.

Free event at Sebastapol Center for the Arts

The Sebastopol Center for the Arts will once again host a Favorite Poem Community Reading. Modeled on the readings initiated by former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, this event will bring together a wide range of people and poems into one memorable event.

You are invited to submit a copy of your single favorite poem, famous or otherwise, one that is not written by you, a friend or relative, but one that you have read, perhaps many times, and to which you feel a personal attachment, along with a brief statement about the poem’s significance in your life. The poem and introductory statement should take no more than 3 minutes for you to read or recite.

Please send an email to Jodi Hottel at hottel@sonic.net. Include the subject “Favorite Poem Reading” in the subject heading. Send your name, phone # and email address, and submit your selection in either Word or a web link. Be sure to include the name of the author of the poem. There is no entry fee, but entries should be received no later than April 14.

This is our 16th annual event. The event is free, and refreshments will be served. Whether you submit a poem to share or not, we invite you to come to what is sure to be a wonderful celebration of the community’s love of language.

Sonoma County Public Library Foundation Needs Directors!

Do you love the library and want future generations to love it as well? Become a board member on the SCPLF. Join a dynamic group that supports the library system as well as other organizations and programs that promote enthusiasm for reading and literacy. They have monthly meetings and serve two-year terms. For more information, contact: bcheal@scplf.com or visit website, http://scplf.org.

Healdsburg Literary Guild Seeks New Literary Laureate

The Healdsburg Literary Guild invites applications for the position of Healdsburg Literary Laureate 2018-2020. The Healdsburg Literary Laureate is a writer honored for the quality and body of his or her work. The writer promotes Healdsburg as a center for the literary arts.

Healdsburg’s current Literary Laureate is Russ Messing who will serve until December 31, 2018. Past Laureates include, Doug Stout, 2000–2001, Armando Garcia-Dávila 2002–2003, Penelope La Montagne 2004–2005, Chip Wendt 2006–2007, Vilma Ginzberg 2008–2009, and Stefanie Freele 2010-2011, John Koetzner 2012-2013, and Gabriel Fraire 2014-2015.   Ted Calvert is currently president of the Healdsburg Literary Guild.

Interested writers from the Healdsburg, Cloverdale, Geyserville and Windsor zip codes are asked to submit the following material: writer’s resume/CV; five pages (samples) of his or her work; and a maximum of a 500-word statement of his/her vision of the Healdsburg Literary Laureate’s responsibilities and activities. In this statement, please describe what you would hope to accomplish in the years 2019–2020, share your thoughts about how the literary arts can be a tool to build a multicultural community, and tell us if you read/write/speak other languages. We want the writer to create the position in collaboration with the Guild.

Eligible candidates will be invited to read from their works on the evening of Wednesday, January 9, 2019, from 6:45 – 8:45 p.m. at the Healdsburg Regional Library, 139 Piper Street, Healdsburg.

The 2019-2020 Healdsburg Literary Laureate will be selected on the basis of two elements: a review of all the applications by the Guild Board and participation in the Evening of Laureate Candidates’ Readings on January 9, 2019.

The position of Healdsburg Literary Laureate carries a $500 stipend, payable in two annual installments of $250 each.

Application guidelines can be found at the Healdsburg Literary Guild’s website, http://www.hbglitguild.org.  Interested writers should send application materials by email to healdsburgliteraryguild@gmail.com no later than December 20, 2018.

2018 Industry Poetry Prize

Elizabeth Carothers Herron was short-listed this summer for the 2018 Industry Poetry Prize from Frontier Poetry.

California Poets in the Schools Finds New Home & Executive Director in Sonoma County

California Poets in the Schools (CalPoets), a nationally renowned, 54-year-old nonprofit organization moved its headquarters from San Francisco to Santa Rosa, California in July, 2018 and named Meg Hamill, a Santa Rosa resident, as the new Executive Director. CalPoets serves 28,000 youth throughout California each year and is one of the nation’s largest, literary artist-in-residency programs.

The organization’s move to Sonoma County reflects the fact that local schools, parents and philanthropists place an incredibly high value upon arts education for kids. By the numbers, Sonoma County is one of CalPoets’ largest and most well-funded counties in the state, offering a top-notch literary arts education to nearly 4,000 Sonoma County students from 30 different schools each year – many from high priority neighborhoods as called out by the Portrait of Sonoma County.

In Sonoma County, CalPoets is generously supported by local funders such as Creative Sonoma, the Community Foundation of Sonoma County and the Sonoma County Vintner’s Foundation. In addition, CalPoets in Sonoma County was recently awarded $17,100 from the California Arts Council in order to fund long-term creative writing residencies in 11 Sonoma County schools for the 2018-19 school year.

CalPoets in Sonoma County provides meaningful opportunities for twelve Poet-Teachers to live and work in their local Sonoma County communities. Current and recent Poet-Teachers include Iris Jamahl Dunkle and Gwynn O’ Gara, past Poets Laureate of Sonoma County.

Newly appointed Executive Director Meg Hamill joined California Poets in the Schools as a Teaching Artist in 2007 and became the Area Coordinator for Sonoma County in 2013. Meg has over 20 years of leadership experience at national and regional educational nonprofits including Teach For America, LandPaths and Save the Bay. Hamill now has her eye on CalPoets’ future and its local and statewide presence:

“I believe deeply in the power of our work to change lives. We will continue to provide exemplary poetry lessons and activities that encourage young people to develop empathy and respect for one another. We will also seek to form partnerships and collaborate with other arts organizations and educators to meet the diverse needs of our children locally, regionally and across the state. We have our work set out for us — to ensure that our visionary organization remains at the cutting edge of our field, with deep roots and broad support.”

Meg looks forward to building relationships with the CalPoets’ Board, Poet-Teachers, partnering schools and its network of donors and friends who have helped support and encourage CalPoets’ mission for over five decades.

More information at: www.californiapoets.org/

Meeting Space!

The Sitting Room community library would like Book Groups to know that they would be welcome to hold their meetings here. There is comfortable seating for up to 10 people and parking too. We are open from 9 to 5 Mondays – Saturdays, but are happy to make arrangements for other time slots also. If interested in arranging a trial meeting, please call us at 707 795-9028 or email us at boxcar@sonic.net. The atmosphere is right (and people wont have to straighten up their houses for the occasional occasion). We are right next to Sonoma State University at 2025 Curtis Drive, Penngrove, 94951. Check out our website: www.SittingRoom.org for directions and to get a feel for the place.

Also at the Sitting Room: Birds, Blooms and Butterflies:
Four Artists Celebrate Nature

Depictions of the natural world have inspired artists throughout time. We are pleased to have work by Krista Anandakuttan, Nina Antze, Joyce Libeu and Joanne Page currently on display at the Sitting Room. Stop by and take a moment to enjoy these beautiful drawings and learn more about the great tradition of botanical illustration. Visit 2025 Curtis in Penngrove.

Indies Book of the Year Awards Finalist

Show Her a Flower, a Bird, a Shadow, a short story and hybrid prose collection by Peg Alford Pursell, has been selected as a 2017 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist. Winners will be announced on June 15, 2018. The book was also honored by Poets & Writers magazine’s “Five over Fifty” annual feature in December 2017.

Who Will Be Sonoma County’s 10th Poet Laureate?

Deadline for nominations: November 7, 2017

Nominations are now open for Sonoma County’s 10th Poet Laureate. The Poet Laureate is a Sonoma County resident, whose poetry manifests a high degree of excellence, who has produced a critically acclaimed body of work, and who has demonstrated a commitment to the literary arts in Sonoma County. The Poet Laureate often participates in official ceremonies and readings. The Sonoma County Poet Laureate serves for two years (2018-2019).

The Poet Laureate Selection Committee is made up of representatives from each of the five County Supervisory Districts, and from Sonoma State University, Santa Rosa Junior College, Sonoma County Library, and Sebastopol Center for the Arts, the Literary Arts Guild and the previous poets laureate. Each member of this panel has demonstrated knowledge of and an active commitment to, the life of poetry in our county.

The Selection Committee is pleased to announce that starting this year, the Poet Laureate will be awarded a $1,000 stipend in addition to his or her title.

The new Poet Laureate will be announced in December, 2017

Consistent with tradition, the Sonoma County Poet Laureate will not have a formal job description but will be encouraged to develop an agenda promoting poetry and the literary arts in Sonoma County. Organizers of various community events in Sonoma County may invite the poet laureate to participate in their events.

Please download the submission requirements and application form from the Center for the Arts’ website at http://sebarts.org/index.php/literary-arts

For more information contact Cynthi Stefenoni at cynthi@sebastopolfilm.org or call the Sebastopol Center for the Arts at 707-829-4797.

WTAW Press Inaugural Chapbooks

WTAW Press has published its inaugural chapbooks, February 8, 2017. All four limited edition chapbooks are available on the website at www.wtawpress.org/news. Interviews with chapbook authors Jenny Wu and Amelie Prusik may be read at www.wtawpress.org/author-interviews. WTAW Press has also announced its first full-length titles to be published September 8, 2017. Submissions will open for the 2017 reading period on June 15. To learn more about WTAW Press and stay up on current developments, sign up for the newsletter at http://eepurl.com/bOfwf5. WTAW Press is a 501(c)nonprofit based in Santa Rosa, the publishing arm of Why There Are Words, a national neighborhood of reading series founded in 2010 in Sausalito with branches in New York City, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Austin, and Portland (with more to come in 2018). www.whytherearewords.com

A Message for Sonoma County Poets and Writers

Poet Christopher Soto is researching the life of Sonoma poet Paul Mariah. He’s been working with the Poetry Foundation and they have created a page for Paul’s bio. Some of you may remember Paul as a gentle, kind and energetic soul who often read at the Russian River Writer’s Guild in Sebastopol. He was generous with advice and support. Paul created one of the first gay presses, Manroot, in the 70s. Christopher is also in process of finding a home for Mariah’s work, and has possibly found one at Brown University.

Any of you who have any of Paul Mariah’s works, or if you have any reminiscences, or any other information that might add to the archive at Brown or the Poetry Foundation page, please do contact Christopher at soto@lambdaliterary.org

Littoral Press Poetry Prize

Sonoma County poet Carol Ciavonne’s poem “The Bird Life” has won the Littoral Press Poetry Prize, judged by Troy Jollimore. Suzanne Maxson of Sebastopol received an honorable mention for her poem “Movement.” The prize is 50 broadsides by Lisa Rappoport, a book artist and letterpress printer who has sponsored this contest for nine years.  http://littoralpress.com/web/current-events/

Sonoma County author places 2nd in EVVY Literary Contest

Charles Markee’s middle grade novel Maria’s Beads just took 2nd place as a junior fiction category book in the prestigious Colorado Independent Publisher’s Association (CIPA), 22nd annual EVVY literary contest. See http://cipabooks.com/cipa-evvy-awards. EVVY is a nickname for Evelyn Kaye, the woman who founded CIPA.

Juniper Prize awarded to Sonoma County author Joan Frank

University of Massachusetts Press’ Juniper Prize for the Novel has been awarded to Sonoma County author Joan Frank for her novel All the News I Need. Joan Frank is the author of five books of fiction and a book of collected essays. Her novel Make It Stay won the Dana Portfolio Award. Her story collection, In Envy Country, won the Richard Sullivan Prize, the Gold ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Award, and was named a finalist for the California Book Award. Frank’s essay collection, Because You Have To: A Writing Life, won the Silver ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Award.

Sonoma County Poet Honored

Donna Emerson will read her winning poem “First Day of Kindergarten and Eleven Years Later,” on February 6th at the annual Allen Ginsburg 2015 awards ceremony at the Poetry Center in Paterson, New Jersey.

Sonoma County Poetry Out Loud Contest

On February 15, 2016, the 10^th annual Sonoma County Poetry Out Loud competition took place at the elegant Glaser Center in Santa Rosa. POL is a nationwide poetry recitation program for high school students. It’s implemented first at the classroom level, then school-wide, county-wide, state-wide contests take place. It works much like a spelling bee, and winners eventually progress to the Nationals and compete with other champions from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Every year our county-wide contest becomes more expert and competitive. This year’s winner is Melissa Lozano of Rancho Cotate High. There was actually a tie for first place in terms of raw scores. When that occurs, we look at the “overall performance” score. Shea Dorrell of Piner High School came in just one point behind, using that metric. Our third place winner was Arthur Timpe of El Molino and fourth was Victoria Ward of Maria Carrillo.

By the time this goes to press, the statewide competition will have already taken place. But if you would like a taste of this rich experience, consider coming to Word Temple on March 26. Dana Gioia, our new California Poet Laureate and founder of POL during his leadership of the National Endowment for the Arts, will be presenting, accompanied by two of our county finalists!

The schools involved this year are: Analy, Casa Grande, Creekside, El Molino, Elsie Allen, Maria Carrillo, Montgomery, Piner, Rancho Cotate, Rincon Valley Christian, Roseland Collegiate Prep, Roseland University Prep, Santa Rosa, Sonoma Academy and Tech High.