A 2023 Poet Laureate’s Retrospective
My Year as a City Poet Laureate
In April of 2022, I became Anaheim’s Poet Laureate. I am at the tail end of my two-year term which will end in April of 2024. I am often asked what a poet laureate is and what I do on the job. I thought I’d write about my year for those poets who might consider applying for a poet laureate position in their own city. While being a poet laureate is an unpaid position, it can have its rewards due to the title carrying some weight in literary communities.
BASIC DUTIES
When I took on the role of Poet Laureate in 2022, I had a good idea of what to expect of my duties. Due to the pandemic, my hiring took over two years to process and while I waited to see if I would or would not become the next Anaheim Poet Laureate, I did research. I attended many speaking events by other poets laureate about what they did on the job. It gave me many ideas of what I could do should the role come to pass.
During my job interview, I was told the city wanted to maintain a social media presence for the role and to publish an anthology of poetry for local Anaheim poets. I was asked to attend the monthly poetry Open-Mic at the library and act as its supporter.
After I took on the role, I was also approached by the Anaheim Library to coordinate one of their flagship events…
