Sonoma County Literary Update

March 1, 2026

Greetings Sonoma County poets and poetry enthusiasts.

For those who may be interested in becoming the next Sonoma County Poet Laureate 2026-8, nominations are currently scheduled to open on March 6. The Sebastopol Center for the Arts, which kindly and generously sponsors the poet laureate program, will announce the details.

This month I would like to share my thoughts about the role of the regional poet in our society. We all know there is little, or no, money in poetry. Only a few poets nationally can make a living from their poetry, and usually those poets also teach at a university. I made my living as an environmental engineer, but I’m proud to say I made time for poetry, even though one of my supervisors once told me I should stop writing poetry and focus 24/7 on my day job.

If there is little, or no, money in poetry, then why do we persist? Why, on a recent Friday, did a Courage of Poets gather at the State Capitol to bear witness to those killed by ICE? They gathered to demonstrate that, if poets have anything to say about it, members of our society will not be silenced. Poets are witnesses. Lin Mare deVincent, Valley Poet on the Beat on KSVY, if memory serves me correctly, once told me that radio personality Ronny Joe Grooms called poets “first responders.” Meaning that we are among the first to react, in words, to happenings in society. Poetry documents the times we live in and helps ensure we will never forget.

So, I extend my gratitude to everyone in our community who has ever written a poem primarily as an act of witness, realizing the compensation won’t be financial, but the satisfaction that comes from being part of a community of writers. Thank you.

While I was unable to attend the Courage of Poets event in Sacramento, I would like to announce this somewhat related upcoming event. On Saturday, March 21 from 2 to 330 PM, I will co-lead, along with Librarian Terra Emerson, a workshop on the topic of Documenting Current Events Through Poetry. This is a no-cost workshop, and there is no pre-registration required. Just show up and join a community of like-minded writers interested in writing about current events. The community room at the Sebastopol Library can accommodate a good sized group and we don’t want to turn away anyone interested in this topic. The library is located at 7140 Bodega Avenue in Sebastopol. I hope to see many of you there.

Thank you again for being a part of the Sonoma County writing community.

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

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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.