Is Poetry + Tech Camp for Girls Really Necessary?

Yes, yes, yes!

Click through here to read my friend Erica Goss's smart answer to the question: do we really need this?

Here's my essay on the subject, discussing how my mother (the reader/writer) and my father (the computer programmer) combined to make me the poet I am (hopefully) today.

Photos from Poetry and the Art of Immigration

Click through here to read about the Silicon Valley Reads event and see my photos. We have talented teens in our county.

Local Teen Poetry Winners!

According to the Santa Clara County Library press release, three local teens recently won the prestigious Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) teen poetry contest: http://www.voyamagazine.com/tags/teen-poetry-contest/.

This 2014 national contest attracted more than 140 entries submitted by teens from around the United States. Poetry topics were as diverse as the teens and the geographical areas they represented.

Three of the five winners chosen by VOYA were endorsed and sponsored by the Santa Clara County Library District:  Angela L., age 14 and Ashley C., age 16, Saratoga Library; and Ariel B., age 17 Milpitas Library.   Their winning poems are provided at this link.

Congratulations to these young and promising voices.

Poetry Out Loud : State Finals 2015

I had the great honor again this year of serving as prompter at the judges table for the California State Finals of Poetry Out Loud. In March, for two days, 40 champions from as many counties, competed for the chance to represent our state at the national championship in Washington D.C. You can read all about the POL program, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, at their website here.

The students are amazing. They each perform (recite) from memory (by heart) three poems of their choosing, from among the hundreds of poems on the POL website. Students first compete in high schools, regions, counties, and then at the state level. They are judged on all manner of criteria, including demonstrated understanding of the poetry.

This link takes you to a photo album, on the California Arts Council's Facebook page, where you can see all the poets, in all three rounds, including the winners -- check it out. I've excerpted some photos here, relevant to my participation and the Santa Clara County Champion, Joshua Bjurman.

Here I am, with accuracy judge Karen Lewis from CPITS, and two judges, last year's state champion,

Shayna Maci Warner, and poet Francisco Alarcon - Photo by Jay R. Hart 

Joshua Bjurman, Santa Clara County Champion with California Arts Council member Christopher Coppola and California Arts Council Chair Donn K. Harriis, after the first round.  Photo by Jay R. Hart

Three more judges: Al Young (former CA Poet Laureate), Francis Phillips, and Christopher Coppola.
Photo by Jay R. Hart

More last-minute instructions, including how to signal prompter Jennifer Swanton Brown - Photo by Jay R. Hart  (I think this photo is hysterical! I look like I'm swearing them in to a secret society.)

Assemblyman Chu's staff congratulates Santa Clara County Champion Joshua Bjurman - Photo by Jay R. Hart — on the final day, members of State Senate and Assembly meet the students and present them with certificates. It's a thrill to meet so many of our state leaders.

Joshua Bjurman, Round One of the California Poetry Out Loud 2015 State Finals - Photo by Jay R. Hart — at Sacramento, California.