14 Past and Present Poets Laureate from Around California Will Gather at Firehouse

City of Pleasanton Poet Laureate Cynthia Bryant will host Poets Laureates and Poets Laureate Emeritus for Laureates Speak of the World at the at 2 p.m. Sunday, December 18.

The center is located at 4444 Railroad Avenue in downtown Pleasanton.  Admission is $5, or free to students with ID.

Bryant and 13 other California poets will convene to read their poetry. Included on the program with Bryant will be James Blue Wolf, Albert Flynn DeSilver, Stephanie Freele, Deborah Grossman, Parthenia M. Hicks, Ronnie Holland, Penelope La Montagne, Juanita Martin, Michael McLaughlin, Jim Ott, Sam Pierstorff, Connie Post and Mary Rudge.

The program will be followed by holiday treats, opportunities to meet and speak with the Laureates, purchase their books and have them signed.

James Don Blue Wolf has been a songwriter, recording artist, performer, lecturer, poet, author and storyteller since the early 1970s.  An internationally published poet, BlueWolf's first book of poetry, "Sitting By His Bones," was published in 1999 by Earthen Vessel Productions. He was the Poet Laureate of Lake County, Calif. from 2000 to 2004. 

Cynthia Bryant is currently serving as the seventh Poet Laureate for Pleasanton, after having served as the fourth Laureate from 2005-2007. She was first published in 1997 after winning 3rd place in a national poetry contest and has since been published in more than 30 anthologies, numerous websites, and an e-book.

Albert Flynn DeSilver is an internationally published poet, writer, speaker/trainer, and entrepreneur. He was Marin County’s very first Poet Laureate, 2008-2010. He is the author of Letters to Early Street, Spring 2007, and Walking Tooth & Cloud, January 2007.

Stefanie Freele’s short story collection, Feeding Strays was finalist for both the Book of the Year Award and the 2010 Binghamton University John Gardner Fiction Book Award. Surrounded by Water, a second collection of short stories will be released 2012. Freele is the 2010-2011 Healdsburg Literary Laureate.

Deborah Grossman is the Poet Laureate Emerita of Pleasanton from 2009-2011. She is the author of Goldie and Me, a book about family, friendship and freedom and is a board member of the Ina Coolbrith Circle. She is also an independent food, wine and travel journalist who writes for publications such as Wine Enthusiast and Decanter.

Parthenia M. Hicks is the Poet Laureate of Los Gatos and the recipient of the Arts Council Silicon Valley Fellowship for Literature in the genre of Short Story. Her recent work is featured in The Call: An Anthology of Women’s Writing; Remembering: An Anthology of Poems, and Sweet Obsession: The Art of Lynn Powers.

Ronnie Holland served a two-year community volunteer position as the first Poet Laureate for Dublin from May 2008-May 2010.  She has been published many anthologies, including  the (first) 2009 California Poets Laureate Anthology, Sometimes in the Open. She collaborated with artist Lily Xu on a 2010 chapbook, Where a Painter meets a Poet.

Penelope La Montagne was Poet Laureate of Healdsburg, Calif., 2004-2006. She is author of chapbook, River Shoes, and  participates in the California Poet in the Schools program.

Juanita Martin currently serves as Fairfield, Calif.'s first Poet Laureate. She is an award-winning poet, freelance writer and performance artist.   Active member in the Coolbrith Circle, Redwood Writers, and Marin Poetry Center, she is currently working on a book of poetry called The Light House Beckons.

Michael McLaughlin is a three-time California Arts Council $17,000 grant recipient.  He has used poetry in his work with incarcerated youth and adults for 23 years and is the San Luis Obispo County Area Coordinator for California Poets in the Schools. McLaughlin was Poet Laureate of San Luis Obispo. in 2003. 

Jim Ott was appointed second Poet Laureate of Pleasanton, 2001-2003. A teacher of writing at since 1997, he is active on several foundations and boards in the Tri-Valley area. He hosts a television program about books and authors and is a newspaper columnist.

Sam Pierstorff became the youngest Poet Laureate ever appointed in the state of California in 2004 in Modesto. His debut poetry collection, Growing Up in Someone Else's Shoes, was published by World Parade Books last year.

Connie Post served as the first Poet Laureate of Livermore, 2005- 2009. Her most recent book “Trip Wires”, which received praise from, California’s former Poet Laureate Al Young, was released in September 2010.

Mary Rudge has been the ongoing Poet Laureate of Alameda since 2002.  She is a member of the World Congress of Poets and other poetry societies and organizations.

For information, contact Michelle Russo at mrusso@ci.pleasanton.ca.us. or (925) 931-4847.