Writer Dana Gioia served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts and was appointed California State Poet Laureate by Jerry Brown in 2015. (JOHN BURGESS / The Press Democrat)

California Poet Laureate Returns to Santa Rosa

Santa Rosan Dana Gioia is the new California Poet Laureate, appointed to the post by Gov. Jerry Brown in December 2015. During his two-year term, Gioia will spread the art of poetry and inspire a new generation of writers while visiting schools and libraries in many of the state’s rural counties. He picks up where […]
Book cover for "Bright Dead Things." (Photo courtesy of Ada Limón)

Award Winning Poet Shares Sonoma Childhood Story

Ada Limón, who grew up in Sonoma and Glen Ellen, uses poetry to tell her life story, impressions, emotions and creative thoughts. Her fourth book of poems, “Bright Dead Things” (Milkweed Editions, $16), made her a finalist for the prestigious 2015 National Book Award. And while she lost to fellow Californian Robin Coste Lewis in […]