What is not being mentioned here is the power that poetry can wield. That because poetry is a way to make, it is also a way to witness; that because it is a way to advocate, it is also a way to resist; that poetry is a way to tell our story and to write ourselves into the future that we want to see. It’s our way of saying we are here, with the power to bend language, to call forth action, to be unbreakable, and always, to be true.
Congratulations, Lauren & Eva!
Huge congratulations to my mentees, Lauren Lin and Eva Chen! Lauren Lin is the Inaugural Burlingame-Hillsborough Youth Poet Laureate! Lauren who also won Youth Speaks’ Teen Poetry Slam Finals will represent the SF Bay Area at the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival this summer! Eva Chen is the first student from San…
World premiere of “Meet Me for Noche Buena”
Meet Me for Noche Buena (2022) Saunder Choi (b. 1988) TEXT: AILEEN CASSINETTO Maria Cristina Navarro, soloist WORLD PREMIERE COMMISSIONED BY PACIFIC CHORALE Robert Istad conducts the world premiere of the Pacific Chorale-commissioned “Meet Me for Noche Buena” by noted LA-based Filipino composer Saunder Choi, a tenor in the chorus whose work has been described…
Apply to become a Youth Cultural Ambassador
Are you an artist between 15 and 19 years old? Do you reside in San Mateo County? Apply to become a Youth Cultural Ambassador! GOALS • To foster a love of arts as a vehicle for self-expression and civic engagement among young people in San Mateo County. • To build community through arts and culture…
Ekphrastic collaborations
Before #NationalPoetryMonth ends, here’s a new poem that is part of my collaboration with our extremely talented County Chief Deputy Attorney Rebecca M. Archer! This poem was inspired by Rebecca’s painting, “Great Expectations.” Rebecca Archer’s Great Expectations —after Maya Angelou Aileen Cassinetto It is sunrise, with hope its arrogant/ rider. How it sprang up, buoyed,/…
Thank you, Eastwind Books
Dear Bea & Harvey, So much of Asian culture is rooted in fate and synchronicity. When I first met you at Eastwind Books many years ago, I was unconsciously searching for community, and found it in many unexpected ways. Our history goes further back than your incredible support of Paloma Press. As a new immigrant…
4/15/23: Filoli Annual Haiku Competition
The hugely popular Filoli Haiku contest is now open for submissions! Over 4,000 haiku have been written about Filoli’s gardens since the competition was launched in 2020. In addition to 1st and 2nd place, there is a special category for poets below 18. This year also marks the 2nd Annual Filoli Ecopoetry Award to encourage…
Americans for the Arts features Paloma Press author for National Poetry Month
Donor Story: Jeanne-Marie Osterman from Americans For The Arts on Vimeo. Paloma Press author Jeanne-Marie Osterman met with Americans for the Arts President & CEO Nolen Bivens at The Yale Club in New York City to discuss her recent poetry book, Shellback (Paloma Press, 2021). During the meeting, Osterman donated royalties from her book to…
Santelmo Issue 4
Happy World Poetry Day! Maraming salamat to Krip Yuson for including 3 of my poems in the stunning new issue of SANTELMO, Santelmo is a quarterly literary print journal published by Manila-based San Anselmo Publications, Inc.
YBCA 100 Changemakers
Stunned and deeply honored to be selected for the 2023 YBCA 100 Changemakers! The YBCA 100 celebrates artists, innovators, boundary-breakers, and leaders who are committed to building regenerative and equitable communities. Past honorees who are also some of my heroes include Natalie Diaz, Ruby Ibarra, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Favianna Rodriguez, Beyoncé, Ali Wong, Greta Thunberg, Shonda…
Dear Human
Forthcoming from Paloma Press in the Fall: Dear Human at the Edge of Time: Poems on Climate Change in the United States Co-Editors: Luisa A. Igloria20th Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia 2020-22, Emerita Aileen CassinettoPoet Laureate 2019-2022, Emerita, County of San Mateo, California Dr. Jeremy HoffmanDavid and Jane Cohn Scientist at the Science…
KQED: Inform, Inspire, Involve
Started off this year’s KQED CAP Retreat on the right track: with a quote by bell hooks, “What We Do Is More Important Than What We Say We Believe”. (Thanks to Christine Padilla and Yo Ann Martinez for facilitating!) To this, I’m adding another favorite bell hooks quote: “The heart of justice is truth telling,…
Books I love and blurbed
Here are some of the books I’ve endorsed! It was a joy to thoroughly engage with these works. Please support the authors and publishers by buying these books. You can also request your local library to purchase a copy to add to their catalog. Thank you! The Fight by Jennifer Manthey (Trio House Press, July…
Filipinos at Carnegie Hall
World Premiere Of Filipino Immigrant Song At Carnegie Hall This Summer Filipino immigrant stories along with other Asian and Pacific Islander legacies will be celebrated through song at Carnegie Hall on June 10, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. Produced by National Concerts, this historic collaboration by API composers, choral ensembles, community elders, culture bearers, and cultural…
KALW Bay Poets
KALW Public Radio features my poem, Dust, today at 7:19am and 3:48pm, and on Saturday Feb 4, 2023, at 6:04am. Also streamed are Saunder Choi’s More Waters Rising (intro music) and Zosimo Quibilan’s Pahinga (closing). The Bay Poets segment is produced and hosted by veteran local poet Josiah Luis Alderete, who is also the co-owner…
RISE 2022 Women’s Leadership Conference
Video archive of RISE 2022 Women’s Leadership Conference. Included in the program is Pop Up Poetry featuring Pacifica poet Dina Klarisse, East Palo Alto poet Keiki Leni Ward, and Alameda County Youth Poet Laureate Zoe Dorado, hosted by Commissioner Aileen Cassinetto.
Congratulations, Supervisor Noelia Corzo!
I’m deeply honored that my first reading of the year was in celebration of Supervisor Noelia Corzo, the first Latina and 9th woman to be elected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors since 1856! Supervisor Corzo will be representing District 2, my district. I believe in her, in what she stands for, and in…
Walking Into 2023
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…
Americans for the Arts
The Fall/Winter 2022 issue of Arts Link magazine by Americans for the Arts features the San Mateo County Youth Ecopoetry Project, along with 55 other projects at the intersection of the arts and climate change. Linda Lombardi, Managing Editor, writes, “From rising seas to hurricanes to fires, climate change impacts every corner of the world…
1/12/23: Step Into the Light at Cow Palace
The Cow Palace is hosting a creative competition to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a focus on “speaking out” and encouraging youth to share their voice respectfully and effectively. The contest celebrates and builds on Dr. King’s historic Cow Palace appearance. Entries should be respectful to all cultures, races, religions, and orientations, and…
Call for Submissions: Dear Human at the Edge of Time
Dear Human at the End of TimeA Call for Poems on Climate Change in the United States EDITORS Luisa A. Igloria20th Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia 2020-22, Emerita Aileen CassinettoPoet Laureate 2019-2022, Emerita, County of San Mateo, California Dr. Jeremy HoffmanDavid and Jane Cohn Scientist at the Science Museum of Virginia; 2021 Fellow…
American Dreams
Imagine the world differently. AMERICAN DREAMS, a project by Mana Creative Futures, are language-based public art installations that use augmented reality to overlay digital content on a supported mobile device’s (iOS) camera. This project aims to transform shared spaces, promote ideas and messages of hope, cultivate a sense of belonging, and offer an opportunity to…
Redwood City unveils equity mural
Source: The Daily News Redwood City will celebrate the unveiling of a new racial equity mural this Saturday, marking the compilation of a two-year project meant to signify the city’s commitment to racial equity. Details in the mural have evolved since [Rachel] Wolfe-Goldsmith initially presented her idea. It remained nonlinear with modern representations of minority…
“Meet Me for Noche Buena”
At the world premiere of “Meet Me for Noche Buena” on December 3rd, with composer Saunder Choi (L), lyricist Aileen Cassinetto, conductor Robert Istad (R), and Pacific Chorale members. “The Grammy-winning Pacific Chorale, one of the nation’s leading choirs, launches its signature holiday programming with two performances of “Carols by Candlelight,” spotlighting timeless traditional and…
United Against Hate Week 2022
Digital Makers: United Against Hate 11/16/2022 6:30 PM – 8:30 PMLocation: Downtown Library1044 Middlefield RoadRedwood City, California 94063 November 13 – 19 is United Against Hate Week. Use the Makerspace’s Epilog Laser Cutter to cut and engrave a custom wooden bookmark celebrating tolerance and solidarity within our community. Learners of all ages and experience levels…
Poetry, please
And when we speaklet it be said that nothing is lostin translation. That our words are trueand tenable. That we understandthe meaning of “sii,” the Ohlone word for water,which is you. The Ohlone knew this.They were first of this county, borne of seawater andwoven reeds to salt marshes and pickleweedsand saltwater silvered by smelt.They fared…
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Aileen Cassinetto 