Photo/Eric Marks
Gailmarie Pahmeier has been appointed Reno’s first poet laureate.
Guardian-in-Exile Many folks in Reno were devastated when our tourist guide to the City by the Bay, the Bay Guardian, was shuttered by San Francisco Media Co. The Guardian, which held national stature among progressive newsweeklies like the one you hold now, was purchased by SFMC in 2012, which owns the competing newspapers, San Francisco Examiner and the SF Weekly. While its October 2014 closure was abrupt, surprising staffmembers and the community it served, truth be told, it’s not entirely unusual for corporations to purchase competition with the sole purpose of killing it. The Bay Guardian was founded in 1966 by Bruce Brugmann and Jean Dibble, and it was known for its antipathy toward Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and the developers who gentrified San Francisco’s downtown area and pushed the poor and middle class out. Former staff members have published a commemorative final print edition, a 24-page issue with the goal of getting in the last word regarding the closure. The Guardian-in-Exile Project will be distributed as an insert to San Francisco Public Press’ Winter 2015 edition, available January 22 at bookstores and other outlets around San Francisco (see sfpublicpress.org/where-to-buy-the-newspaper for locations). An electronic edition of the Guardian Commemorative Edition is available for download at www.gumroad.com/guardianinexile. Many of the most recognizable names from the venerable paper’s past make an appearance in the final issue, including final Publisher Marke Bieschke and Editor Steven T. Jones and former News Editor Rebecca Bowe, founders Bruce Brugmann and Jean Dibble and longtime Executive Editor Tim Redmond. This project is part of an ongoing effort to preserve and make publicly accessible the newspaper’s hard-copy and electronic archives.
Wake up Among the more intriguing developments that came out of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s Jan. 15 State of the State speech was that Switch, a Las Vegas technology company, will be building a 3 million square-foot data center, called a “Supernap,” in Northern Nevada. It’s expected to include a $1 billion investment and a fiber optic network that will connect Reno, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. It will certainly add to Reno’s economic diversity, although judging from the leadership page on its website, www.supernap.com/management-team.html, ethnic diversity is not at risk. Despite the narcoleptic name, on the face of it, it’s a pretty exciting development, although as with several of the recent technology announcements, the devil will likely be in the details— which have yet to be announced. ABC News reported that “Steve Hill, director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, said the deal still has to be approved by Storey County and the state’s economic development board but would include a reduction of sales tax to 2 percent as well as a 75 percent reduction in personal property taxes for 15 years.” A message left with the Switch switchboard to get statistics on potential job numbers and other facts regarding the site and construction was not returned.
—D. Brian Burghart
8 | RN&R |
JANUARY 22, 2015
Poetry in motion City of Reno selects Gailmarie Pahmeier as its first poet laureate Poetry in politics is a combination that many Reno citizens are probably unfamiliar with. This is understandable, by as Reno has lacked the honorary Matt Bieker position of poet laureate—until now. On Jan. 5, Reno City Council unanimously voted to appoint University of Nevada, Reno professor and poet Gailmarie Pahmeier to the position. The title and duties of poet laureate are traditions that date back to the 14th century—a tradition many local and federal governments still hold. The current Poet Laureate of the United States, Charles Wright, was appointed last year.
“In this first term, this poet laureate is going to set the tone for what poet laureates do.” Christine Fey reno resource development and culture affairs manager Traditionally, a poet laureate’s main duty is to compose a poem for special events, such as dedications or public occasions. Christine Fey, city of Reno resource development and culture affairs manager, has been involved in the development of the position since last spring, when the idea was presented to the council by Councilmember Jenny Brekhus.
“She went and asked for permission to have staff spend time to go the Arts and Culture Commission, to solicit their support in seeking a poet laureate for the city of Reno,” Fey said. “They were enthusiastic and thrilled to have the opportunity.” As Reno has never had a poet laureate, the job fell to Fey and her staff to research and propose the terms of the position. Most of the selection process is modeled after the State Arts Council’s process for selecting the Nevada poet laureate. In order to be considered, applicants need to be nominated, provide publication credits, a list of accomplishments relating to the literary arts, two to three letters of recommendation, and an artist statement detailing the applicant’s vision of the role. Poet Laureates serve a two-year term and receive a $1,000-per-year honorarium from the Reno Arts and Culture Commission. While the nomination guidelines require the poet laureate to meet a minimum of four official engagements on behalf of the city, the duties of the position are otherwise vague. According to Fey, this was intentional. “In this first term, this poet laureate is going to set the tone for what poet laureates do,” Fey said. “Each of the four applicants brought different ideas of what a poet laureate would do, which I thought was very exciting—they greatly exceeded our expectations.”
Fey believes the position is a good endorsement of a public art medium that has been underexposed in the past. Appointing a poet laureate has been a topic of council discussion before, but no action was ever taken. “I think the time is ripe,” she said. “We have come to a place in our community where arts and culture is no longer an add-on, but rather an essential. Arts and culture is one of the things that defines us … so why not have a poet laureate that helps to shine a light on the literary arts as well?” After a three-month selection process, the RACC decided Gailmarie Pahmeier would serve as the inaugural poet laureate. Pahmeier, who has been a faculty member of the UNR English Department since 1985, was originally nominated for the position by Robert Blesse—retired director of the Black Rock Press. Shaun Griffin, a local poet and an inductee of the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame, was among those to write a letter of recommendation. “Bob Blesse told me the position had become a reality,” Griffin said. “He said he was going to nominate Gailmarie and asked me to help, and I immediately said I would.” Griffin has lived in Virginia City since 1978, and in addition to writing and editing several acclaimed poetry collections, has served in various arts-administration roles around the state—including the State Arts Commission. Since meeting Pahmeier when she moved to the state in 1984, he has known her as a fixture in the artistic community of Reno and rural Nevada. A community he believes will benefit from the Poet Laureate’s role as an ambassador for poetry. “She’s able to be a public person with what is typically a very private art form,” Griffin said. “She’s going to use it as a tool and platform to raise awareness of the art form.” Awareness, he hopes, will combat any negative preconceptions the public may hold about poetry, and its importance as a form of expression. “Poetry has not been widely read in this time and culture; it has in the past,” Griffin said. “Unfortunately, there’s a kind of fear in the public about poetry. Sometime in grade school we learned that poetry is hard, so why try? Hopefully, she will assuage some of that fear.”
