ARTS & CULTURE

Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate

Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate 2025-26

Santa Cruz Public Libraries (SCPL) in collaboration with the County of Santa Cruz Department of Parks, Open Spaces, and Cultural Services, Arts Council Santa Cruz County, and Poetry Santa Cruz are pleased to announce that applications for the 2025-2026 Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate have opened and will be accepted from October 1 through October 30, 2024. The Poet Laureate will be selected through a community panel process and officially appointed by the County Board of Supervisors. Applications and supporting files should be submitted through the online form on the Library’s website: santacruzpl.org/poetlaureate. Information and the application form are also available in Spanish at santacruzpl.org/poetalaureado.

Farnaz Fatemi, 2023/24 Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate, is an Iranian American poet and writer. She is a founding member of The Hive Poetry Collective, a member of Writers of Color – Santa Cruz County, and a former Lecturer in Writing at UCSC. In summers she teaches new transfer students in UCSC’s Transfer Edge program. Her book, Sister Tongue, was published in September 2022. It won the 2021 Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize, selected by Tracy K. Smith, and received a Starred Review from Publisher’s Weekly. Some of her poems and lyric essays appear in Poem-a-Day (Poets.org), Tab Journal, Pedestal Review, Nowruz Journal, Grist Journal and Tupelo Quarterly and the anthologies Essential Voices: Poetry of Iran and its Diaspora and Halal If You Hear Me. More at farnazfatemi.com

2024 Poetry and Music in the Park

Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy and a blanket to sit on while listening to live music and hearing local poets read from their work. All ages are welcome to attend this free series is hosted by County Parks and 2023-24 Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate Farnaz Fatemi. Musicians will play before and after the poets read from 2:00-3:00 PM.

Contact Us

Phone:

(831) 454-7901 (General)

Monday – Friday 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, except holidays

Email:

parksinfo@parks.santacruzcountyca.gov (General)

Our physical office is open, but staff availability is limited.