Category Archives: SF Bay Area

Kevin Gunn served as the Poet Laureate of Livermore from 2013 to 2017. He curated the Ravenswood Poetry Series and worked with grammar school students, giving workshops in local schools. He also started a Teen Poet of the Month contest program. He has been published in Song of the San Joaquin, California Quarterly, Chiron Review, and many localContinue reading “Kevin Gunn”

In 2010, Juanita J. Martin became the first poet laureate for Fairfield, California. She was chosen based on her writing, her ability to articulate in many forms, and her vast resume. During her two years as laureate, she gave readings, workshops, book signings, and judged contests. She also wrote the poem for the City ofContinue reading “Juanita J. Martin”

Arlene Biala is a Pinay poet and performance artist born in San Francisco, CA and raised in the South Bay. She has been participating in poetry performances and workshops in the Bay Area for over 30 years and was Poet Laureate of Santa Clara County for 2016 and 2017. Her poetry has been described as “grounded inContinue reading “Arlene Biala”

D.L. Lang is a contemporary American poet and spoken word artist. The author of over a dozen poetry books, Lang has been writing poetry for over 25 years. She has performed her poetry on stage hundreds of times at protest rallies, county fairs, literary festivals, open mics, poetry circles, bookstores, libraries, and live radio broadcasts.  FromContinue reading “D.L. Lang”

Cynthia J. Patton was appointed as the City of Livermore’s fourth Poet Laureate. Her term began July 1, 2017. Cynthia, a Livermore resident, is an attorney, author, consultant, and founder of the nonprofit organization, Autism A to Z. She has published two books on wetland protection and restoration, and a poetry collection, Across An Aqueous Moon:Continue reading “Cynthia J. Patton”

Johanna Ely is the author of three poetry books, Transformation, Tides of the Heart—Poems for Benicia, and Postcards From a Dream (Blue Light Press 2020). She is an award-winning poet, and had a poem nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2018. She has also been published in literary journals and anthologies. Johanna served as the sixth poet laureate forContinue reading “Johanna Ely”

Cynthia Bryant was the Poetry Coordinator for Alameda County Fair in 2004 and in 2005. In June 2005 she was appointed the 4th Poet Laureate of Pleasanton and served until June 2007. Later, after returning to Pleasanton, Cynthia Bryant was appointed the 7th Poet Laureate serving 2011-2013. Published in over 50 anthologies, Cynthia’s poetry books Sojourn, PebblesContinue reading “Cynthia Bryant”

Kim Shuck was born in San Francisco, California, and is a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. She received a BA in Art and an MFA in Textiles from San Francisco State University. Shuck is the author of Deer Trails, forthcoming from City Lights Books in October 2019), Clouds Running In (Taurean Horn Press, 2014), Rabbit Stories (Poetic Matrix Press,Continue reading “Kim Shuck”

Iris Jamahl Dunkle is an award-winning literary biographer, essayist, and poet. Her academic and creative work challenges the Western myth of progress by examining the devastating impact that agriculture and over-population have had, and continue to have, on the North American West. Taking an ecofeminist bent, her writing also challenges the American West’s male-oriented recorded historyContinue reading “Iris Jamahl Dunkle”

Cathy Dana is the 2017-2020 Alameda Poet Laureate and president of Alameda Island Poets. She regularly leads two workshops at the Home of Truth, and facilitates “Storytelling Swap” at the Frank Bette Center for the Arts. She also teaches creative writing at Alameda Community Learning Center, where she began the Mighty Pens teen poetry group,Continue reading “Cathy Dana”