Contact: Katie Woods, Communications Manager
San Mateo County Libraries
(650) 312-5274
SAN MATEO, CA – San Mateo County is seeking a new Poet Laureate for the 2019-2020 term. The mission of the Poet Laureate is to elevate poetry and celebrate the literary arts within the County by making poetry more accessible to people in their everyday lives. The appointed applicant will serve as the County's third Poet Laureate, and their term will commence January 2019. Applications from published San Mateo County residents are being accepted now through Aug. 6, 2018.
“Our County is so fortunate to have many fine poets living here. We look forward to finding our next Poet Laureate amongst them. This person will continue to be an ambassador for the literary arts in our County and bring more of our local poets to the forefront,” said Supervisor Warren Slocum. “We look forward to celebrating the diversity of our County through the spoken word and literary arts.”
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, opens a new window created the honorary post of Poet Laureate in 2013. During their two-year term, the Poet Laureate will receive a $5000 yearly stipend, and will serve as a representative and advocate for poetry, literature and the arts by participating in public readings and civic events. They will also be responsible for proposing and leading their own community project.
The current Poet Laureate, Lisa Rosenberg, opens a new window, will complete her term in December 2018. During her tenure, Rosenberg created the Spoken Art project, opens a new window to increase recognition for the County's poets and visual artists. The current community-wide project showcases both visual and language arts by providing a platform for local poets to respond to the work of local artists.
"Conducting Spoken Art has taught me that a project can be a starting point for countless sources of connection. I am astounded at the scope of imaginative work being sent to us by poets ranging from very young children to elders, from all parts of the county, and many different walks of life," said Rosenberg. "The community project is a central part of the Poet Laureate’s charter. I hope the explorations Spoken Art has fostered will be an ongoing source of creative engagement."
The 2019-2020 San Mateo County Poet Laureate will be announced in October 2018. For more information, visit www.sanmateocountypoet.org, opens a new window.
