Sonoma County Literary Update

February 1, 2026

Greetings Sonoma County poets and poetry enthusiasts.

I’ve been thinking recently about poetry’s oral tradition and have been encouraging us to attend public readings because they make poetry come alive while also helping to build community. Another way in which I’ve personally embraced the oral tradition is that I’ve started memorizing poems again. A number of years ago in a workshop led by Kim Addonizio, the students were tasked with memorizing a poem (by another poet, not a poem of their own) and reciting it during class. For that class I memorized Philip Larkin’s 63 line poem “Church Going.” I’ve also been inspired by the Poetry Out Loud competition sponsored by Poets in the Schools. This year will mark the second year in which I will be one of the judges. Finding inspiration in the will of high school students to memorize and recite poems has given me added interest in doing the same. Recently I have re-learned “Church Going,” along with Thomas Hardy’s “The Darkling Thrush,” and James Wright’s “Two Horses Playing in an Orchard.” And while in the past I’ve been reluctant to commit my own poems to memory, I am now able to recite from memory my poem “Open Range.”

In the final few months of my laureateship I’m making an effort to attend reading series and open mics that are new to me. In the month of January, I attended two such gatherings. The first gathering was the Tuesday night open mic series at Brew Coffee House in Santa Rosa, organized by Steph Chevalier, in which participants perform songs, poetry, prose, and comedy in a revue style event. At the event I read two poems off the page but then thought, next time, I would like to set aside the book and recite poems from memory.

The second gathering was the quarterly Patron Saints of Influence reading and open mic at Shady Oak Barrel House in Santa Rosa, organized by Sarah Broderick and Gaia Patience Veenis. Each of these readings is organized around the theme of a literary influencer (Franz Kafka at the January event). At the event I read two surrealistic or speculative poems: “When the Muse Hollers:” and “Do the Fishes Know It’s Snowing.”

And now, I would like to help publicize an opportunity for poetry submissions centered on Petaluma, my adopted home town for the past twenty years. The organizers of Rivertown Poets (Sande Anfang, Shawna Swetech, and Monica Volker) have issued a call for submissions for the anthology they plan to publish: Ode to Petaluma. Poetry submissions are open to all over 18. The theme is Petaluma: its town, river, architecture, landscape, people, history, etc. You do not need to reside in Petaluma. Up to 2 original and unpublished poems per submission. For more details, please see the Calls for Submissions page of the Sonoma County Literary Update website: https://socolitupdate.com/calls-for-submission/

Speaking of Petaluma, many thanks to the Petaluma Historical Library and Museum for hosting my recent workshop “Dusty Artifact or Window Into the Past? Writing Poems On Petaluma History,” at which an overflow crowd of participants received an insider tour by Executive Director Stacey Atchley and then wrote thought-provoking poems about Petaluma, some of which will hopefully find their way into the Ode to Petaluma anthology. Many thanks also to journalist and playwright David Templeton and the Petaluma Argus Courier for publicizing the event as well as my efforts as poet laureate over the past eighteen months.

And now for a few upcoming events.

Sunday February 1 at 2 PM: The Poetry Out Loud competition in which Sonoma County high school students recite poems, with the winner moving on to the State competition. This event, which is open to the public, takes place at Sonoma State University’s Stevenson Hall.

Thursday February 12 at 6 PM: I will be a featured reader at the Speakeasy reading series curated by Brian Martens. This event includes an open mic. The event is held at the Santa Rosa Arts Center located at 312 South A Street. Details at: https://santarosaartscenter.org/events/

Saturday March 21 from 2 to 3:30 PM: I will be co-leading, with Librarian Terra Emerson, a workshop on the topic of “Documenting Current Events Through Poetry” at the Sebastopol Branch of Sonoma County Library located at 7140 Bodega Avenue. Details at: https://events.sonomalibrary.org/event/copy-hold-potential-poet-laureate-event-94149?language=en

Dave Seter
Sonoma County Poet Laureate 2024-2026
dssocolaureate@gmail.com

________

Archives of previous Poet Laureate columns may be found here for 2012,  2013, 2014,  2015, 2016-2017, 2018-2020, 2020-2022, 2022-2024 and 2024-2026.