Poets Laureate on Social Justice in Vallejo

Date/Time
Date(s) – 12/09/2019
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Location
505 Santa Clara St
Joseph Room at the John F. Kennedy Library, Vallejo, CA, with:

–D.L. Lang, Vallejo Poet Laureate 2017-2019

–Juanita J. Martin, Fairfield Poet Laureate 2010-2012

–Rob Lipton, Richmond Poet Laureate 2017-2019

–Allegra Silberstein, Davis Poet Laureate 2010-2012

–Lois Requist, Benicia Poet Laureate 2012-2014

–and host Ron Riekki, co-editor of Undocumented: Great Lakes Poets Laureate on Social Justice

Ron Riekki wrote My Ancestors are Reindeer Herders and I Am Melting in Extinction (Loyola University Maryland’s Apprentice House Press), U.P.: a novel (Ghost Road Press), and Posttraumatic: A Memoir (Small Press Distribution). He edited Undocumented: Great Lakes Poets Laureate on Social Justice (Michigan State University Press), And Here: 100 Years of Upper Peninsula Writing, 1917-2017 (MSU Press), Here: Women Writing on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (MSU Press, Independent Publisher Book Award), The Way North: Collected Upper Peninsula New Works (Wayne State University Press, Michigan Notable Book), and The Many Lives of The Evil Dead: Essays on the Cult Film Franchise (McFarland). Riekki is contracted for seven upcoming books.

Juanita J. Martin is Fairfield’s first poet laureate, 2010-2012. She’s also a freelance writer, and performance artist. Her poetry book, The Lighthouse Beckons, was accepted into the Solano County Library. Martin’s next volume of poems, Quiet Intensity, is due out in 2019. She’s published in Blue Collar Review, SoMa Literary Review, and others. Juanita is active in Ina Coolbrith Circle, and Benicia First Tuesday Poets. Juanita was also a longtime member of Redwood Writers from 2007-2017.

Juanita is listed with Poets & Writers Directory of Poets. She has read at the Frank Bette Cultural Center for the Alameda Poets in the Annual Black History event. She often reads for the Beat Poetry Festival and 100 Thousand Poets for Change. Juanita has been a featured reader with Healdsburg Literary Guild, Petaluma Poetry Walk 2007 & 2016, as well as Berkeley Poetry Festival. She has also contributed to Sonoma Discoveries Magazine, a tourist magazine covering North & West Sonoma County, and the Coast. www.jmartinpoetwriter.com

Allegra Jostad Silberstein was born in the middle of a blizzard on a farm in Wisconsin. Her Norwegian ancestors had by-passed the flat prairie land and settled in the coulees and hills of the non-glaciated area near the Mississippi River. Love of poetry began as a child when her Mom would recite poems as she worked. She has lived in California since 1963 but her growing years on the farm brought a deep appreciation for the out-of-doors world that stays with her and sustains her.

In March of 2010 she was selected as the first Poet Laureate for the city of Davis, CA. She has three chapbooks and her first full book of poems was published by Cold River Press in the spring of 2015. She has danced with Pamela Trokanski’s Third Stage company since 1994 and is a member of Threshold Choir.

Lois Requist has been engaged with writing most of her adult life. In the 80s, she got a B.A. and M.A. in English/Creative Writing/Poetry from SFSU. She served as poet laureate in Benicia from 2012-2014. She’s published newspaper columns, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Where Lilacs Bloom is her political and personal novel. Travel is another passion of hers. As the result of a long trip, she wrote RVing Solo Across America…without a cat, dog, man, or gun. She works with Benicia Literary Arts and Carquinez Village, walks and practices yoga, enjoys family and friends. Learn more at http://www.loisrequist.com/home.html

D.L. Lang serves as Poet Laureate of Vallejo, California (2017-2019). She is the author of twelve books, most recently Midnight Strike, and one spoken word album, Happy Accidents. Her work been anthologized in Marin Poetry Center Anthology, Vol. 21, A Poet’s Siddur, and Light & Shadow. She edited the 2019 anthology Verses, Voices & Visions of Vallejo. Lang has been a featured act at numerous events in Vallejo and poetry shows around the bay area. Her poems have been transformed into songs, liturgy, and used as a means to advocate for causes. Her website is: www.poetryebook.com