May Poetry Newsletter

[Benicia Poet Laureate]

Dear Poetry Lovers,

What a wonderful celebration we have had this year for National Poetry Month!! This is the 28th year since President Bill Clinton officially recognized it, and as other countries have followed suit, it is now the largest literary celebration in the world! Here in Benicia, we are fortunate to attend not only our own events, but those other wonderful events across the county, the state, and thanks to the internet, the world.

Our own special event, “Our Best to You,” provided a wonderful 2 hours of fantastic poetry from a wide variety of poets, including several poet laureates in commuting distance. By the end, my heart was as full as my feet were tired, and a big thank you to everyone who came to read and support!

Open mics, ekphrastic events, online workshops, dedications, readings from poetry collections, poetry contests, on-air interviews and bookstore reading events all filled the calendar.  

Looking forward to May, I am going to combine the 2 newsletters I have been writing, the first dealing with our Benicia events (a combination of in person and online events open to everyone), and my “Benicia and Beyond” which listed regularly occurring in person events, special in person events around the area, and online workshops which were open to everyone for free.  I will not be repeating the regularly occurring events outside Benicia that I listed the first 4 months of this year until I do a refresher letter next September which would reflect any changes. Again, apologies in advance for any wrong information - please see the location or organizer for more info.

FIRST TUESDAY POETS OPEN MIC

Come to a fun and pleasant evening on TUESDAY, MAY 7, at the Benicia Library, where every poet gets to read 2-3 times to an appreciative and supportive audience.  Or just come listen to the wide variety of spoken poetry from beginners to those experienced. The suggested theme for the first round is “forever” or conversely “never.” Come at 6:15 for cookies and conversation, 6:30 for the program.

Otherwise we are very busy organizing the committee’s results of our Joel Fallon Poetry Scholarship which will be awarded at the High School on TUESDAY, MAY 21 (much gratitude to Mary Eichbauer, Johanna Ely and Tom Stanton). Along with Mary Susan Gast, I have been collaborating with our 3 national judges for the Benicia Love Poetry contest.  I hope you have all SAVED THE DATE OF SUNDAY, JUNE 2, AT 2 PM ON ZOOM, when the Honorable Mentions and Winning poems will be announced and read aloud in the first hour, and then there will be an open mic to read other love 💕 poems in the second hour!

That same day, JUNE 2, BENICIA LITERARY ARTS will be participating in the BAY BOOK FEST in Berkeley (details forthcoming on their website).  You can go there at 11 am and then come back to sit in comfort to watch the Love Poetry Contest party unfold online!

On THURSDAY, MAY 2, at 2:30 pm BENICIA LITERARY ARTS AND THE BENICIA LIBRARY will cosponsor an event for World Press Freedom Day. There will be a presentation including speakers from Turkmenistan on the state of journalism rights. See either organization’s website for further details.

On THURSDAY, MAY 2, 7 pm, in Berkeley, Arthouse Gallery and Cultural Center, 2905 Shattuck St, there will be a reading by Jan Steckel, Andrew Romanelli, Bruce Isaacson and James Norman.

On SATURDAY, MAY 11, 3-5 PM, Fairfield Poet Laureate Suzanne Bruce will host an event at the Civic Center Library, 1150 Kentucky St., titled “Upon Words,” with poets Erin Rodani and Rosa Lane.

On SATURDAY, MAY 18, sponsored by Vallejo Center for the Arts, there will be an event, time TBA, called “Climate Change:  Impact Affecting Vallejo,” where Vallejo Co-Poets Laureate Kathleen Herrman and Jacalyn Eyvonne will be featured along with 7 local artists. Details online at vallejopoetrysociety.

And finally WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, is the closing date for entries to the Solano County Fair Fine Arts Division 230, Adult Published and Unpublished works. See details on SCFair.com. Be aware that other county fairs that have deadlines coming up!

Other June events will be in the next newsletter.

Kathy

Katrina Monroe

Benicia Poet Laureate