Thank you, 2022, for all the lessons and milestones! I'm honored to have been part of this events and programs, and grateful to everyone who helped make them happen: Dear Poet 2022 Skyline College Summer of Poetry & Farewell Party Academy of American Poets Fellows at L.A. Public Library Pacific Chorale’s Meet Me for Noche Buena World Premiere (first commissioned work as lyricist) Americans for the Arts’ Arts & Climate Mosaic Poets Crawleate at Lit Crawl The Future Is Poetry & San Mateo County Youth Ecopoetry Project U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai’s 4th of July official poem & poet KALW Public Radio's 4th of July poem IAM’s Fiscal Sponsorship Redwood City’s Racial Equity Mural Celebration CAA's 53rd Annual Celebration of Justice Metro Film and Arts' Breaking Down Walls at Fort Mason Makerspace Poetry Lab Launch National Poetry Month proclamations in San Mateo County + 11 cities San Mateo County Health Commemoration official poem & poet Equity Through Art in the Filipino/a/x Community Women’s Hall of Fame & Women’s Leadership Conference KQED Advisory Panel appointment Filoli Curatorial Committee Commendations from Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, California State Senator Josh Becker, Assemblymember Kevin Mullin, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, and the Consulate General of the Philippines in San Francisco Paloma Press book launches & 6th year as publisher First year as Commissioner & final year as poet laureate 80 readings/workshops/presentations 5 poems published (including first in American Poets) + 2 newspaper articles I’m looking forward to working on these forthcoming projects in 2023, and especially welcome the friendships they will bring: “Step Into the Light” at the Cow Palace on January 12th, to celebrate and build on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historic 1964 Cow Palace appearance National Masterwork Chorus’ “Wide American Earth” at Carnegie Hall on June 10th, to celebrate the resilient and tenacious stories of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities through song Derrick Scocchera's documentary film about the production of Metro Film and Arts’ Breaking Down Walls Collaborative book Launch of Dear Human at the Edge of Time climate change anthology Commission on the Status of Women, Office of Arts and Culture, KQED, Filoli, and Paloma Press events and programs I am so very grateful for these opportunities, but more importantly, I hope for gentler days, and the largest increments of time with everyone that I love. Here's to 2023, and all its possibilities. May it be lovelier with ease and laughter. A happy and peaceful new year to all!
Aileen Cassinetto 