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Local Arts Literary Arts Poet Laureate
| Poet Laureate |
Poet Laureate - Santa Cruz County's First!The tradition of naming a poet laureate began in 17th Century England. The United States Library of Congress appointed an official Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1937; an Act of Congress changed the name of the position in 1985 to Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. California was the first state to informally name a Poet Laureate, and the position was established by the legislature in 2001. Santa Cruz County has now joined the ranks of numerous counties of California by naming our very own Poet Laureate. The Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County, in partnership with Poetry Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, Santa Cruz County Parks, Open Space & Cultural Services, Santa Cruz Public Libraries and the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission, is proud to announce the County's first Poet Laureate, Gary Young. Gary Young
 Gary Young, Poet Laureate
Gary, a UC Santa Cruz Humanities lecturer, was also honored with the 2009 Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America. His appointment to Santa Cruz County's Poet Laureate position represents a milestone for the art of poetry in our community. Gary is the author of five collections of poems, including his most recent, No Other Life (Creative Arts Book Company). He edits the Greenhouse Review Press and is a well-known printer and book artist whose work is represented in numerous collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum and The Getty Center for the Arts. He lives with his wife and two sons in the mountains north of Santa Cruz. "California led the nation by being the first state to informally name a Poet Laureate, and now Santa Cruz has joined numerous California counties in celebrating local poets and poetry with this appointment," said Michelle Williams, Executive Director of the Cultural Council. "Gary is a treasured local literary artist and an excellent poet to launch this program." Our Laureate will celebrate and bring further awareness to poetry as an art vehicle that inspires creativity in children and adults to express feelings, experiences, and questions about the world. "I'm never smarter than I am when I'm writing a poem," Gary once said in an interview. "The seductiveness of that intelligence--which seems to exist outside and independent of my own limited intellectual capacity--is best played out in my own mind by simple declaration. I don't think poems should be puzzles--the world is puzzling enough. I want my poems to be windows: as clear as possible." Read the County Proclamation honoring Gary. Learn more about Gary Young--and look for his influence on the art of poetry in our community. |