Content Editor

Sanderson Dean

Sanderson Dean is an Emmy-award winning writer in the wonderful world of entertainment advertising. From NYC to LA, he’s worked on thousands of movies, tv shows, and video games for numerous movie studios, television networks, and advertising agencies. And after more than 20 years in the business, it’s a safe bet you’ve seen, heard, or readContinue reading “Sanderson Dean”

Hilary Cruz Mejia

Hilary Cruz Mejia (she/her/ella) is a Latinx poet and activist from the coastal waters of Guatemala. Her work has appeared in MiGoZine (an imprint of Paloma Press), Portside Magazine, and in the Lesbians Are Miracles Magazine. Hilary’s transition to the U.S. as a lesbian, immigrant, and first-generation college student has been presented in her poetry whereContinue reading “Hilary Cruz Mejia”

Peter Neil Carroll

Peter Neil Carroll is an American writer and historian. He is the author of over 20 books, including Sketches from Spain (Main Street Rag, 2024), a lyric homage to the volunteers of the Lincoln Brigade, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; Talking to Strangers (Turning Point Press, 2022); This Land, These People: 50 States of the Nation (Press Americana, 2022),Continue reading “Peter Neil Carroll”

Housing Leadership Council

In 2020, the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County in collaboration with San Mateo County Poet Laureate Aileen Cassinetto launched the first countywide Youth Poetry & Art Competition to encourage young people to explore their notion of home and to raise awareness of Affordable Housing Month. Given the continuing housing crisis in the BayContinue reading “Housing Leadership Council”

Speak Poetry Anthology, Vol. 1

From the introduction to Speak Poetry Vol. 1: When I was appointed Poet Laureate of San Mateo County, I was tasked with creating a poetry campaign to bridge and engage communities through the literary arts. My project, titled, “Speak Poetry,” is an ongoing conversation, where we’re given the opportunity to get to know people andContinue reading “Speak Poetry Anthology, Vol. 1”

Joe Cottonwood

Joe has balanced his life as a home improvement contractor by day, author by night. He is from Maryland, imprinted Appalachian, educated midwestern, settled half a century under redwoods in La Honda, California. Joe is widely published around the world. Recently one of his poems was on display as a giant billboard in London, England.Continue reading “Joe Cottonwood”

Speak Poetry Anthology, Vol. 2

From the introduction to Speak Poetry, Vol. 2: We are the language(s) we learned, the dragons we slayed, the monsters we defeated, the “gods we created”—we are all of our stories and every story read to us. We are also everything that we have forgotten. For this anthology, I’ve sent out a call to allContinue reading “Speak Poetry Anthology, Vol. 2”

Nikki Christiansen

Nikki Christiansen’s poem “Bombed” was among those selected during a competition administered in the spring of 2010 by the Community College Humanities Association and sponsored by the Library of Congress as part of then U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan’s project, “Poetry for the Mind’s Joy.”

Stephanie Dobler Cerra

Stephanie Dobler Cerra is a general writer at Accenture, supporting Google. She has a master’s degree in literature from Indiana University, specializing in Victorian Studies. Her poem, “Photograph of a Minamata Disease Victim,” appeared in The Pennsylvania Review (1986). Poem ORACLE Dad out of state for work, mom got spookyShuffling her Tarot cards, gazing atContinue reading “Stephanie Dobler Cerra”

Louis Castoria

Louis Castoria has been a volunteer journalist for over 20 years while maintaining his full-time employment as a partner in two sequential law firms. He served for twelve years on a nonprofit’s (Insurance Educational Association) Board, six of them as Chair. He is a 1976 graduate of the University of San Francisco (Valedictorian, Student BodyContinue reading “Louis Castoria”