2006 Ken Huffman Sacramento County 2007 Karen Hong Sonoma County 2008 Roshawnda Bettencourt Placer County 2009 Spencer Klaven Santa Barbara County 2010 Morgan Brown Monterey County 2011 Robert Marchand Monterey County 2012 Corbin Gomez El Dorado County 2013 Arwa Arwan Monterey County 2014
Shayna Maci Warner Marin County
March 15 Sheraton Grand Hotel, Sacramento 1:00 Check-in at registration table at the Sheraton Grand Hotel 2:00 Tofanelli Room: County Champions’ welcome, warm-ups, information session 4:00 Magnolia Ballroom: Welcome and Presentation of Certificates 4:30 California Poetry Out Loud Competition Round One 6:45 Hero Award Presentation 7:00 Banquet for County Champions and special guests
March 16 Sheraton Grand Hotel, Sacramento 7:15 Falor Room: County Champions’ warm-ups 7:30 Champions escorted to the Capitol Assembly Committee Room 4202, State Capitol 8:00 California Poetry Out Loud Competition Round Two 10:30 Intermission (approximate)
Address: Dana Gioia, former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts and founder of Poetry Out Loud Group Photo 11:15 California Poetry Out Loud Competition Round Three 12:15 Presentation of Awards
Welcome to the 10th Annual California Poetry Out Loud Recitation Contest! California Poetry Out Loud is the largest Poetry Out Loud competition in the nation, and 2015 is our largest contest yet. Forty California counties participated in Poetry Out Loud this year. One of the county champions here today will be chosen to represent California in the national finals and be flown to Washington D.C. next month, courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts, to compete against winners from all the other states and U.S. territories. It’s an exciting and tense couple of days for us here at the California Arts Council—our favorite two days of the year! We couldn’t be prouder of the exceptional young people we honor today in Sacramento. The students whose competition you are about to witness are all outstanding. At this level, the judges have the toughest job in the room. We are grateful to the generous friends who enable us to enrich the experience of the state finalists who have worked so diligently to excel. This year, California Arts Council Member Christopher Coppola, California Poets in the Schools, California Arts Council Chair Donn K. Harris, and California Arts Council Vice Chair Susan Steinhauser have donated additional funds for travel, hotel rooms, a celebratory dinner, awards, and a priceless opportunity for the county champions to get to know each other. It is these sponsors who help us transform the state finals into the celebratory event the finalists deserve. And we are delighted to welcome, as our special guest this year, the legendary Dana Gioia, who founded Poetry Out Loud when he served as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. The California Arts Council is pleased to partner with the National Endowment for the Arts in producing California Poetry Out Loud. We greatly appreciate the dedication and hard work of the local arts councils, district offices of education, high school teachers, California Poets in the Schools, parents, and—most of all—the tens of thousands of participating students. We thank our sponsors, our expert panel of judges, all those who made Poetry Out Loud possible, and California Arts Council staff members, who have enthusiastically gone “above and beyond” to make #POL15 special. Welcome to this extraordinary event.
Craig Watson Director California Arts Council
I am delighted to speak at the tenth annual California Poetry Out Loud finals.
Of all the fine programs we helped create or expand during my years in Washington, D.C. as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Out Loud is the one closest to my heart. It has been a pleasure and privilege to witness the transformative power of poetry on the young men and women who compete. I've been moved, dazzled, impressed, and humbled by the power and presence they bring to their recitations. DANA GIOIA
Dana Gioia is an internationally acclaimed poet and critic. He is the author of four collections of poetry, including Interrogations at Noon (2001), which won the American Book Award, and Pity the Beautiful (2012). He has also published three collections of criticism, most notably Can Poetry Matter? (1992), which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Award. A best-selling literary anthologist, Gioia has edited or coedited over two dozen collections of poetry, fiction, and drama. He has also written two opera libretti and has collaborated with composers in genres ranging from classical to jazz and rock. For six years (2003-2009) Gioia served as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts where he gained strong bipartisan support for the previously imperiled agency and helped launch the largest literary programs in federal history, including The Big Read, Poetry Out Loud, and Shakespeare in American Communities. He was twice unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. During the NEA years Gioia also led the U.S. cultural delegation to UNESCO. For two years he directed the arts and culture programs for the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C. and Colorado. In 2011 Gioia became the Judge Widney Professor of Poetry and Public Culture at the University of Southern California. He has been awarded eleven honorary doctorates and many awards, including the Laetare Medal from Notre Dame, the Presidential Civilian Medal, and the Aiken-Taylor Award in Modern American Poetry. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Sonoma County, California.
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Alameda County champion School: Berkeley High School Teacher: Madalyn Theodore Poem 1: Ecology by Jack Collom (25 lines) Poem 2: [My prime of youth is but a frost of cares] by Chidiock Tichbourne (Pre-20c/25 lines) Poem 3: Meditation at Lagunitas by Robert Hass
Avi Simon "[poetry is] No punctuation, no narrative required, just an idea, unadulterated and expressed beautifully.�
Contra Costa County champion School: Monte Vista High School Teacher: Brendan Nelson Poem 1: Prayer by Jorie Graham (25 lines) Poem 2: Experience by Edith Wharton (Pre20c) Poem 3: The Children of the Poor by Gwendolyn Brooks
Arielle Herman “Poems are the antidote for a world that doesn't rhyme."
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Butte County champion School: Gridley High School Teacher: Cindy Scott Poem 1: To Helen by Edgar Allan Poe (Pre20c/25 lines) Poem 2: It was not Death, for I stood up, (355) by Emily Dickinson (Pre-20c)
Ashley Patteson
Poem 3: Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight by Vachel Lindsay
"Poetry has always been a remarkable outlet for my imaginations and feelings, and has gotten me through a lot of life issues."
El Dorado County champion School: Oak Ridge High School Teacher: Mark Coovelis Poem 1: El Olvido by Judith Ortiz Cofer (25 lines) Poem 2: Novel by Arthur Rimbaud (Pre-20c) Poem 3: Flies Buzzing by Mark Turcotte
Benjamin Brazzel “All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.” The arts are the continuation of this quote by Benjamin Franklin that involve man’s creative nature in combination with the mind, body, and soul. Poetry Out Loud has been such a positive experience in helping me truly bring out the creative aspect of myself and thus allow me to explore my reflective and contemplative side.”
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Fresno County champion School: San Joaquin Memorial Teacher: Lisa Cameron Poem 1: When I have Fears That I May Cease to Be by John Keats (Pre-20c/25 lines) Poem 2: I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth
Lara Tadios
Poem 3: The Star by Ann Taylor, Jane Taylor
"Writing is more than just expressing thoughts. It is a way of connecting to others across history and different background. Poetry is like a photograph in words, and brings us together through Poetry out Loud."
Inyo County champion School: Owens Valley High School Teacher: Jessica Libbee Poem 1: Actaeon by A. E. Stallings (25 lines) Poem 2: I Am Offering this Poem by Jimmy Santiago Baca
Shyann Padilla
Poem 3: There's Been a Death, in the Opposite House by Emily Dickinson (Pre20c)
"For me, poetry is a way to express myself in an effective, different and more creative way."
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Humboldt County champion School: Eureka High School Teacher: Mauro Staiano and Nanette Voss Poem 1: A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky by Lewis Carroll (Pre-20c/25 lines) Poem 2: Apollo by Elizabeth Alexander Poem 3: The Truly Great by Stephen Spender (25 lines)
Myah Daniels "For me, poetry is a means of self expression, a way to put down and articulate feelings. Poetry and the arts are so fantastic because each work is unique and resonates with every individual differently."
Kings County champion School: Hanford West High School Teacher: Elizabeth Kamerin Poem 1: We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar Poem 2: The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Pre-20c) Poem 3: Abandoned Farmhouse by Ted Kooser (25 lines)
Mellissa Raylene Carpentieri "Every new poem I learn is now an exciting challenge as I connect to the emotions captured within the words on the page. I love to perform poetry because it has helped me express my emotions in a way I never thought I could."
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Lake County champion School: Lower Lake High School Teacher: Gina Dickson Poem 1: Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy (Pre-20c) Poem 2: Under Stars by Tess Gallagher (25 lines) Poem 3: What You Have to Get Over by Dick Allen
Jenny Landeta "Performing arts, including poetry, have given me a fun opportunity to express myself."
Los Angeles County champion School: Granada Hills High School Teacher: Karl Cyr Poem 1: In Memoriam: Martin Luther King, Jr. by June Jordan Poem 2: Queen's Cemetery, Setting Sun by Lawrence Ferlinghetti Poem 3: Early Affection by George Moses Horton (Pre-20c/25 lines)
Aaron Rubanowitz "Poetry allows me to understand the feelings and experiences of others; to me, poetry is empathy."
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Lassen County champion School: Lassen High School Teacher: Tom Ready Poem 1: The American Soldier by Philip Freneau (Pre-20c/25 lines) Poem 2: The Maid's Lament by Walter Savage Landor (Pre-20c) Poem 3: The Ocean by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Pre-20c/25 lines)
Christine McPhetridge "The way words work to influence our emotions, and work in harmony to create a beautiful portrayal of all that happens within our minds, is truly amazing. Potery Out Loud has allowed me to explore such a place, and further grasp onto this realization."
Madera County champion School: Liberty High School Teacher: Rebecca Harp-Sligh Poem 1: Piano by D. H. Lawrence (25 lines) Poem 2: The moon now rises to her absolute rule by Henry David Thoreau (Pre -20c/ 25 lines)
Michaela Hammond
Poem 3: Insomnia by Dana Gioia (25 lines)
"Programs like Poetry Out Loud keep the presence of the Arts alive for those who need creative outlets to thrive and live their everyday life with purpose."
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Marin County champion School: Novato High / Marin School of the Arts Teacher: Kathryn Korff Poem 1: Sonnet 29: When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes by William Shakespeare (Pre-20c/25 lines) Poem 2: A History Without Suffering by E. A. Markham
Annalise Schulman
Poem 3: The Hospital Window by James L. Dickey
"I’m really excited to participate in the Poetry Out Loud competition. This process has helped me better understand the depth, meaning, and beauty of poetry in general. While I’ve studied theater at my school, I’ve learned that reciting poetry is different from performing monologues. In poetry, my primary focus is the literature itself, and I have to capture the language and rhythm as it was intended by the author, as well as share my own interpretation."
Modoc County champion School: Tulelake High School Teacher: Rick Fakhre Poem 1: The Conqueror Worm by Edgar Allan Poe (Pre-20c) Poem 2: Bright Copper Kettles by Vijay Seshadri (25 lines) Poem 3: Author's Prayer by Ilya Kaminsky (25 lines)
Cambria Elise Weaver "You are a walking metaphor for death and decay. Everything you are and were is already crumbling into the earth." - David Jones from "Love and Space Dust"
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Mendocino County champion School: Ukiah High School Teacher: Michael Riedell Poem 1: The Cities Inside Us by Alberto Rios Poem 2: Nude Descending a Staircase by X.J. Kennedy (25 lines) Poem 3: The Paradox by Paul Laurence Dunbar (Pre-20c)
Quincy Boyle "I'm really looking forward to this experience not just for the competition but also for the chance to meet fellow poets. It's rare that such high class teenage writers and reciters are able to gather in one place for the sole purpose of enjoying poetry and it's something I greatly look forward to."
Mono County champion School: Mammoth Academy High School Teacher: Shira Dubrovner Poem 1: The Sun Rising by John Donne (Pre-20c) Poem 2: Monet Refuses the Operation by Lisel Mueller Poem 3: Broken Promises by David Kirby (25 lines)
Katherine Wilson "Poetry Out Loud is a lovely artistic venue that allows students to read, learn, understand, and express complex ideas and thoughts in a way that conveys raw emotion directly to an audience -- it allows everyone, from all kinds of backgrounds, races, genders, ages, and beliefs to be vulnerable and real."
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Monterey County champion School: Santa Catalina School Teacher: Simon Hunt Poem 1: Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats (Pre-20c) Poem 2: Virtuosi by Lisel Mueller Poem 3: A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown by Walt Whitman (Pre-20c/25 lines)
Sharmaine Sun "I am perpetually consumed by Poetry Out Loud because I believe in the power of the spoken word. It’s exhilarating to know that one can create subtle nuances with inflections of tone and pacing of breath to give meaning to every word."
Nevada County champion School: Nevada Union High School Teacher: Alicia Lacoste Poem 1: For the young who want to by Marge Piercy Poem 2: In the Desert by Stephen Crane (Pre-20c/ 25 lines) Poem 3: One Hundred Love Sonnets:XVII by Pablo Neruda (25 lines)
Falyn Lazarus "If art and poetry have taught me anything, it's that there is no such thing as a note-worthy conformist."
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Napa County champion School: Justin-Siena High School Teacher: Laura Kelly-Weakley Poem 1: Romance by Claude McKay (25 lines) Poem 2: Revenge by Letitia Elizabeth Landon (Pre-20c) Poem 3: Adam's Curse by William Butler Yeats
Delia Bisconer "It's human connection. It's reaching across time, through space, and breathing through and with someone else. It's amazing."
Orange County champion School: Western High School Teacher: Brandon Leighton Poem 1: Requests For Toy Piano by Tony Hoagland Poem 2: Father by Edgar Albert Guest Poem 3: I Find no Peace by Thomas Wyatt (Pre-20c/25 lines)
Lesley Aguirre "Theatre has impacted my life in many positive ways. It introduced me to the world of poetry, it taught me poise and public speaking skills, and it instilled me with a sense of confidence. From my past three years in the competition, I learned the powerful impact of language and poetry."
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Placer County champion School: Placer High School Teacher: Brittany Haydon Poem 1: Wife's Disaster Manual by Deborah Paredez (25 lines) Poem 2: The Universe as Primal Scream by Tracy K. Smith Poem 3: Early Affection by George Moses Horton (Pre-20c/25 lines)
Sarah Farrel "A lot of people feel insignificant and are afraid to speak, but Poetry Out Loud has proven that if you are given the opportunity and are brave enough to take it, people will listen."
Sacramento County champion School: Pleasant Grove High School Teacher: Russell Young Poem 1: The Applicant by Sylvia Plath Poem 2: On Monsieur’s Departure by Queen Elizabeth I (Pre-20c/ 25 lines) Poem 3: Onions by William Matthews
Ithalia Price "Poetry Out Loud is an outlet for me to utilize different works of art for creative expression, being comfortable and confident in my own skin."
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Riverside County champion School: Xavier College Preparatory High School Teacher: Lori Davis Poem 1: Constantly Risking Absurdity (#15) by Lawrence Ferlinghetti Poem 2: Love (III) by George Herbert (Pre20c/ 25 lines)
Kristinely Afable
Poem 3: Sonnet 29: When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes by William Shakespeare (Pre-20c/25 lines)
"I am truly honored and blessed to be a part of this wonderful program, and look forward to making new friends and hearing lots of great poetry."
San Bernardino County champion School: Center For Learning and Unlimited Educational Success Teacher: Sierra Pannabecker Poem 1: I, Too by Langston Hughes (25 lines) Poem 2: Dirge in Woods by George Meredith (Pre-20c/ 25 lines)
Christopher Rivas
Poem 3: The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee by N. Scott Momaday (25 lines)
"Having the opportunity to be involved in California Poetry Out Loud and compete with many other talented students has been an exciting experience. It is an honor to present poems of our history legends who wrote such inspiring words in their time. Being able to continue to remember their message by reciting with admiration has been my pleasure."
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San Diego County champion School: Valley Center High School Teacher: Crystal Rienick Poem 1: Xenophobia by Rae Armantrout Poem 2: Up-Hill by Christina Rossetti (Pre20c/ 25 lines) Poem 3: The Empty Dance Shoes by Cornelius Eady
Shelby Becker "Poetry Out Loud has allowed me the wonderful opportunity to see, feel and experience beautiful masterpieces painted, not with paint, but with words intricately placed allowing the author to tell his/her story by a baring of the soul."
San Luis Obispo County champion School: San Luis Obispo High School Teacher: James Bruce Poem 1: They Feed They Lion by Philip Levine Poem 2: Novel by Arthur Rimbaud (Pre20c) Poem 3: Under the Vulture-Tree by David Bottoms (25 lines)
Ethan McSwain "The competition aside, Poetry Out Loud is amazing in what it does for us students; we get to be exposed to new poetry and new ideas, and hear our old favorites recited in new ways. It's both challenging and eye opening."
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San Francisco County champion School: Lowell High School Teacher: Susan Terence Poem 1: The Author to Her Book by Anne Bradstreet (Pre-20c/25 lines) Poem 2: Ode for the American Dead in Asia by Thomas McGrath Poem 3: Strange Meeting by Wilfred Owen
Yael Vainberg "You take a room full of strangers, give them poetry, and by the end of the day they will be best friends. That is what the arts are about."
Santa Barbara County champion School: Pioneer Valley High School Teacher: Ben Rothstein Poem 1: A Display of Mackerel by Mark Doty Poem 2: The Seekers of Lice by Arthur Rimbaud (Pre-20c/ 25 lines)
Aldrin Allen Ysip
Poem 3: Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats (Pre-20c)
"The Arts allow you to have the freedom to express your thinking through words, a brush, movement or even an instrument. There are infinite pieces of art that you can connect to. There is bigger meaning to the simple words on a piece of paper or the figures on a canvas and finding those little secrets sends you in awe and makes the work of art ten times more worthwhile."
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Santa Clara County champion School: Live Oak Academy Teacher: Holly Coty Poem 1: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney (25 lines) Poem 2: Requests for Toy Piano by Tony Hoagland Poem 3: The Man with the Hoe by Edwin Markham (Pre-20c)
Joshua Bjurman "Viewing the world through poetry gives me the ability to learn more about the life I live. This window through words gives me the opportunity to challenge myself in a meaningful and creative way that unfolds a story in a marvelous expression."
Siskiyou County champion School: Etna High School Teacher: Lynn Karpinski Poem 1: Cartoon Physics, part 1 by Nick Flynn Poem 2: The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Pre-20c/ 25 lines)
Trey Bradford
Poem 3: The Listeners by Walter de La Mare
“Poetry Out Loud is one of the few programs that emphasizes the most powerful tool humans have, the power of the spoken word."
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Santa Cruz County champion School: Aptos High School Teacher: Kerri Barrick Poem 1: The Applicant by Sylvia Plath Poem 2: A Noiseless Patient Spider by Walt Whitman (Pre-20c/25 lines) Poem 3: Cartoon Physics, part 1 by Nick Flynn
Virginia Ontiveros "Spoken word poetry is an art I’ve longed to explore. Poetry Out Loud has provided me with an opportunity to do so."
Solano County champion School: Dixon High School Teacher: Jed Miller Poem 1: Cartoon Physics, part 1 by Nick Flynn Poem 2: American Smooth by Rita Dove Poem 3: Echo by Christina Rossetti (Pre20c/25 lines)
Mirelle Sandoval "To me, poetry is an outlet to express your ideas or experiences to others as you wished you could express yourself every time you spoke. To transfer emotion from poet to paper to reader."
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Sonoma County champion School: Roseland University Prep Teacher: Chelsea Johnson Poem 1: The Layers by Stanley Kunitz Poem 2: At the New Year by Kenneth Patchen Poem 3: A Birthday by Christina Rossetti (Pre-20c/25 lines)
Alexandra Gonzalez "Poetry Out Loud allows me to connect with my inner self and feel inspired by the freedom and strength that poetry portrays."
Sutter County champion School: River Valley High School Teacher: Nicole van Brocklin Poem 1: Eating Poetry by Mark Strand (25 lines) Poem 2: Before the Birth of One of Her Children by Anne Bradstreet (Pre-20c) Poem 3: Speak by Phillip B. Williams
Karina Topete "The arts are a way of expressing how you feel with or without words."
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Stanislaus County champion School: John H. Pitman High School Teacher: Cole Humphres Poem 1: Happiness by Jane Kenyon Poem 2: A March in the Ranks HardPrest, and the Road Unknown by Walt Whitman (Pre-20c/ 25 lines) Poem 3: Happiness by Paisley Rekdal
Hasna El-Nounou "Poetry Out Loud has introduced me to the realization that poetry has hundreds of different interpretations that only the person reading can discover, and how beautiful and comforting that realization can be."
Tehama County champion School: Mercy High School Teacher: Helen Arbini Poem 1: The Darker Sooner by Catherine Wing (25 lines) Poem 2: Immortal Sails by Alfred Noyes (25 lines) Poem 3: She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron (George Gordon) (Pre-20c/25 lines)
Madeline Flynn "The arts are a way of expressing how you feel with or without words."
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Tuolumne County champion School: Sonora Union High School Teacher: Maggie Hodson Poem 1: A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown by Walt Whitman (Pre-20c/25 lines) Poem 2: The Nail by C. K. Williams (25 lines)
Levi Lowe
Poem 3: The Blues Don’t Change by Al Young (25 lines)
"As a Poet whose meter measures advances, the Awaiting World is my canvas, and its color will come in Stanzas."
Yolo County champion School: Esparto High School Teacher: Sophia Hoang Poem 1: Abandoned Farmhouse by Ted Kooser (25 lines) Poem 2: And Soul by Eavan Boland Poem 3: A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky by Lewis Carroll (Pre-20c)
Alfonso Casares "My favorite part of Poetry Out Loud is being able to step into the shoes of a different character, really study and become it, and be able to execute it in a way that others see a whole different person reading the poem."
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Ventura County champion School: High School at Moorpark College Teacher: Jacqueline Powell Poem 1: For Love by Robert Creely Poem 2: For the young who want to by Marge Piercy Poem 3: Life in a Love by Robert Browning (Pre-20c/25 lines)
Jessie Sulka “Poetry Out Loud is not a competition, it is a moment in which the writer can be heard, where both the reciter and audience experience the gift that the author has created. I see Poetry Out Loud is an abstract art gallery were we can visualize the writer’s masterpiece through the voice of another individual, it is far from the definition of what a competition implies.”
Yuba County champion School: Marysville Charter Academy of the Arts Teacher: Ruth Atkins Poem 1: It was not Death, for I stood up, (355) by Emily Dickinson (Pre-20c) Poem 2: El Olvido by Judith Ortiz Cofer (25 lines)
Charlie Diamond
Poem 3: Advice to a Prophet by Richard Wilbur
"The arts are a fun way to relieve stress, and express yourself. Whether it’s singing, dancing, acting, poetry, painting, or writing, the arts tend to bring out the best in everyone."
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Judges Her first love is poetry, but Lewis also writes fiction, essays, and children’s literature, published in numerous journals and anthologies. Since 1995, Lewis has been creating curriculum with California Poets in the Schools and bringing hands-on imaginative workshops to K-12 students, often as a CAC Artists-in-Schools awardee. She was born in San Jose, grew up in Southern California and earned an MFA from Antioch - Los Angeles. Now living in Mendocino County, Lewis is the Executive Director of the Mendocino Coast Writers Conference. published her first poem in the Palo Alto Times when she was in the fifth grade. She completed her Master of Liberal Arts at Stanford University in 2012, with a thesis on the domestic poetry of Eavan Boland. Jennifer has been a poet/teacher with California Poets in the Schools since 2001 and joined their Board of Directors in March 2013. Her poems have been published in multiple local journals, including Caesura and The DQM Review. In October 2013, Jennifer became the second Poet Laureate of the City of Cupertino. You can follow her Poem-A-Day project “A Lane of Yellow” on Tumblr (http://laneofyellow.tumblr.com/) and other Cupertino Poet Laureate news at http://cupertinopoetlaureate.org.
, award-winning Chicano poet and educator, is the author of 13 volumes of poetry, including, Ce•Uno•One: Poems for the New Sun (Swan Scythe Press 2010), From the Other Side of Night: Selected and New Poems (University of Arizona Press 2002), Snake Poems: An Aztec Invocation (Chronicle Books 1992), and Sonnets to Madness and Other Misfortunes (Creative Arts Book Company 2001). His most recent books are Canto hondo / Deep Song (University of Arizona Press 2015) and Borderless Butterflies / Mariposas sin fronteras (Poetic Matrix Press 2014). He has published six books for children available through Lee & Low Books, including Animal Poems of the Iguazú (2008) and Poems to Dream Together (2005). He teaches at the University of California, Davis, where he directs the Spanish for Native Speakers Program. He is the creator of the Facebook page POETS RESPONDING TO SB 1070.
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Judges is a recently-reappointed Council Member of the California Arts Council, where he has served since 2013. Coppola has been head of the film program at the San Francisco Art Institute since 2013. He has been owner and executive producer for his companies Plaster City Productions Inc. and Christopher Coppola Enterprises since 1994,and has been a Directors Guild of America film and television director since 1987. Coppola is president of Project Accessible Hollywood (PAH), a non-profit organization he founded in 2006 to bring digital technology education to underserved communities. has been the Executive and Artistic Director of the Oakland School for the Arts since 2007. Earlier, Harris served as the Principal of the San Francisco School of the Arts, where he created a sister school, The Academy of Arts and Sciences, offering the arts to students without prior experience. Harris received his BA and MA in Theatre Arts from CSULA, and holds teaching credentials in English and Special Education. Governor Jerry Brown appointed Mr. Harris to the California Arts Council in January 2014. He also serves as the Vice President of the National Arts Schools Network and is on the board of the Engineers Alliance for the Arts. On January 28, 2015, Mr. Harris was voted in as the 20th Chairman of the California Arts Council. has been published in English, Spanish & Spanglish in the USA, Mexico & Europe. She’s an award-winning poet & multi-instrumentalist. She’s a popular Bay Area DJ, radio personality and leader of the group “Avotcja & Modúpue” (The Bay Area Blues Society’s Jazz Group of the Year in 2005 & 2010). She received two Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2014. Avotcja teaches Creative Writing, Drama & Music & is a proud member of DAMO (Disability Advocates Of Minorities Org.), PEN Oakland, a former member of California Poets In The Schools, IWWG & is an ASCAP recording artist. Her latest Book is With Every Step I Take (Taurean Horn Press 2013 available at Small Press Distribution &/or Amazon).
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California Poetry Out Loud 2015
Judges is a native San Francisco poet, playwright and performer. A noted jazz poet, she has performed at numerous jazz festivals and venues in the country and has been featured at the SF Jazz Poetry Festival and World Poetry Festivals in Caracas, Venezuela and Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina. Her poetry and vocals can be heard on Asian Improv Arts recordings with Francis Wong, Devotee and Child of Peace; and on Jon Jang’s, Immigrant Suite. She is the author of the award-winning play, Paper Angels, a prison drama about Chinese immigrants held on Angel Island. The play has been produced throughout the U.S. and received a San Francisco Fringe Festival Award in 2010. Lim has written three poetry books, Child of War, Winter Place, and Paper Gods and Rebels and is co-author of Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island, a recipient of the American Book Award. is program director for arts and the Creative Work Fund at the Walter and Elise Haas Fund in San Francisco. Prior to her foundation work, Phillips was executive director of Intersection for the Arts (1986-94), which had a longrunning literary reading series, and director of the Poetry Center and American Poetry Archives at San Francisco State University (1983-86). She teaches Creative Writing at San Francisco State University. She also is the author of three small press books of poetry from Kelsey Street Press and Hanging Loose Press, is coeditor of the Grantmakers in the Arts Reader, and is the former poetry review editor for The Hungry Mind Review. Her book reviews have appeared in Hungry Mind Review, Montemora, Poetry Flash, Ruminator Review, The San Jose Mercury News, The Washington Post, and other publications. With Stan Hutton, she co-authored The Nonprofit Kit for Dummies (fourth edition published in 2013).
Musicians
Photographer
Seth Dorran (banquet)
Jay R. Hart
Doug Pauly
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Judges was born in Manila in 1968. He is an award-winning writer/performer and an internationally recognized trailblazer in connecting arts with social justice, public health, and community development. Tan has published three volumes of poetry, edited three fiction anthologies, and his various poems, plays, essays, and short fiction on race, power and identity have appeared in numerous academic and commercial venues. Since 2004, Tan has served as the Director of Community Engagement at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, where his work in the field of arts leadership has been recognized globally. Prior, he worked in Public Health for 16+ years, co-founding LA’s Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team Health Center. is California’s 2014 Poetry Out Loud Champion, and she is honored to be back in Sacramento on the other side of the microphone. She currently studies World Arts and Cultures/Film as a first year at UCLA, where she is a member of the Shakespeare Company at UCLA as well as a media columnist for OutWrite Newsmagazine. She most recently performed in the Shakespeare Company’s Henry IV part I and Antony and Cleopatra, and UCLA Residential Life’s The Vagina Monologues. She’d like to thank the inspiring community of poetry aficionados and reciters who sustain poetry and turn Poetry Out Loud into a celebration, not just a competition. Widely translated, Young’s many books include poetry, fiction, essays, anthologies, and musical memoirs. From 2005 through 2008 he served as California’s poet laureate. Other honors include NEA, Fulbright, and Guggenheim Fellowships, The Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence and, most recently, the 2011 Thomas Wolfe Award. On the first Friday of each month in 2012 he presented an original poem at KQED Radio’s The California Report Magazine. As its Visiting Scholar, Young currently teaches imaginative writing and creativity at California College of the Arts, San Francisco. Offline Love, a new poem collection, sits almost press-ready. Detailed information about this versatile Berkeley-based author and his work may be found at www.AlYoung.org.