As part of my Academy of American Poets project, I am organizing workshops and working on a series of short films that will highlight the Bay Area’s ecology and how our youth are responding to environmental challenges. Students grade 12 and below who are interested and wish to find out more, please email me at smcpoetlaureate[at]smcl.org.
Save the date: August 11, 2021 at 5pm Pacific via Zoom!
Youth Ecopoets’ Workshop with 2020 U.S. Youth Poet Laureate & 2020 UN Sustainable Development Goals Ambassador Meera Dasgupta
Organized by San Mateo County Poet Laureate Aileen Cassinetto and the South San Francisco Public Library, this workshop is made possible by the Academy of American Poets with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and in partnership with the San Mateo County Office of Arts & Culture and Urban Word NYC.
This workshop is free and open to all SF Bay Area high school students. Register here.
The San Mateo County Office of Sustainability and San Mateo County Poet Laureate Aileen Cassinetto present a youth ecopoetry workshop at the Youth Climate Ambassadors Summer Retreat.
*With Keynote Address & Workshop by National Youth Poet Laureate Alexandra Huynh
(The Ecopoetry workshop, organized by San Mateo County Poet Laureate Aileen Cassinetto, was made possible with support from The Academy of American Poets and Urban Word NYC.)
Presented by Congresswoman Anna Eshoo to San Mateo County Poet Laureate Aileen Cassinetto on June 14, 2021. In her letter Congresswoman Eshoo writes, “This accomplishment is an eloquent statement about your beautiful poetry and your commitment to improving your community… To honor you and your extraordinary work, I’m enclosing a Congressional Certificate of Recognition.”
New York, NY (June 3, 2021)— The Academy of American Poets is pleased to announce its 2021 Poets Laureate Fellows. These 23 individuals serve as Poets Laureate of states and cities across the U. S. and will be leading public poetry programs in their respective communities in the year ahead. The Fellows will each receive $50,000 (or $25,000 each in the case of the shared Poet Laureate position in Montana) for a combined total of $1.1 million. In addition, the Academy will provide $100,000+ total to 14 local 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations that have agreed to support the Fellows’ proposed projects.
Read the full announcement from The Academy of American Poets.
Kapwa: Filipino Writers on History, Legacy and Building Community featuring Eileen Tabios, Kirby Araullo, Leny Mendoza Strobel and Vince Gotera
Hosted by Daly City Public Library & San Mateo County Poet Laureate Aileen Cassinetto.
May 19 at 5pm PT.
Watch again here.
San Mateo County Poet Laureate Aileen Cassinetto is joined by The Midpen Media Center founder Elliot Margolies, local teacher Jim Ward, contributors to the youth anthology, I Have a Dream: Inaugural Poems for a New Generation, and winners and finalists of the 2020 Housing Leadership Council Youth Poetry Competition, 2021 Daly City Youth Poet Laureate Competition, and 2021 Poetry Out Loud Competition.
In late 2019, the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County and SMCPL Aileen Cassinetto began collaborating on what would be an annual countywide youth poetry, music & art competition to raise awareness of Affordable Housing Month and highlight young people’s notions of home. The theme this year is “Growing Home,” the title of last year’s winning poem by Abigale Wee. Grand Prize Winners this year, announced by The Honorable David Canepa, President of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, are: Rachel Cronin (Poetry, K-5); Marta Olson (Poetry, 6-12); Mina Hui (Art, K-5); Emily Gao & Jane Oh (Art, 6-12); Justin Tha (Music, K-5); William Christensen (Music, 6-12).
Menlo Park Library’s Mental Health Awareness Virtual Open Mic
Whether in poetry, spoken word, or music, let’s bring our voices together to break the silence surrounding the mental health impacts of rising anti-Asian sentiments and stand in solidarity with the AAPI community. Share your own words, or listen to others. Register here. For more info, please email John Weaver.
Redwood City Public Library is proud to present National Poetry Month Readings featuring Angela Narciso Torres with Dilruba Ahmed, Naoko Fujimoto, and Karen Llagas.
Register here.
Aileen Cassinetto