Benicia First Tuesday Poets will not be meeting on July 2nd or August 6th. They will be holding their annual Poet’s Picnic on Sunday, August 4th from 12:30 to 2:30 PM at the Benicia City Park, at the corner of Military and First St. There will also be a book launch for the Unsettled anthology at a date to be announced.

Please note there will be no OZCAT ART BEAT Poetry Hour live on air open mic on May 23rd, 2024. Please tune in to 89.5 FM KZCT on June 6 at 10:30 AM for a featured poetry reading and interview with D.L. Lang, former Vallejo Poet Laureate. For details about other events in May, please see this post.

Poetry in Notion has been cancelled due to low attendance. Current Vallejo Poets Laureate Jacalyn Eyvonne and Kathleen Herrmann are starting a new open mic series called Tea House Poetry, meeting on the second Sundays from 2 to 4 PM at 717 Marin in Vallejo beginning June 9th, 2024. Please refer to this post for details about ongoing open mics in Solano County, and be sure to check their individual mailing lists and social media pages in case of abrupt cancellations or schedule changes.

Vallejo Poets Laureate Jacalyn Eyvonne and Kathleen Herrmann will read poetry Climate Change Ekphrastic Exhibit, Temple Arts Loft on May 25, and June 1, 8, 15, and 22 from 1:00-2:00 PM

Kathleen Herrmann will be performing at the Alibi Bookshop 5 Year anniversary celebration at 2:30 PM on June 1st. Jacalyn Eyvonne will be performing at the Battle of the Bay Car Show and Hop in downtown Vallejo on June 1st.

June 8th – 3:30 PM – Vallejo waterfront – Makers PopUp with Poets Laureate Kathleen Herrmann, Jacalyn Eyvonne, and D.L. Lang. Jacalyn Eyvonne will also have a booth for the Poetry Letters project from 12-5PM.

June 14th – 1:15 PM – Solano County Fair with Poets Laureate Kathleen Herrmann, Jacalyn Eyvonne, and D.L. Lang. Bay Stage.

Sunday, June 2nd, the Benicia Love Poetry Contest will announce the winners via Zoom.

Saturday, June 15, 2024 2:00 – 4:00 pm 1 Commandant’s Lane, Benicia Benicia Literary Arts will reveal their new anthology, Carquinez Review 2024.

“Writing from your Soul!” Come hear featured poet and cellist, Diane Frank, who will incorporate poetry and music with Poetry Open Mic to follow on Saturday, June 29, 2024, 1:00 – 3:00 pm at the Fairfield Cordelia Library, 5050 Business Center Drive.

Fairfield Poet Laureate Suzanne Bruce is partnering with the Solano Land Trust to host her 4th Hike & Write. The hike will take place on June 30th from 9AM-12PM at Lynch Canyon (3100 Lynch Canyon Rd). The hike is medium level and will be approximately two miles. A docent will be leading the hike and sharing history and stories along the way. Please bring a pen and paper and water and snacks. Be sure to wear appropriate clothing and comfortable walking shoes. Parking is $5. If you would like to participate, please email Suzanne at fairfieldpoetlaureate@gmail.com by June 27th so she can get a headcount.

Ray Davis hosts the I Need a Mic podcast which you can stream via Spotify. Anna Quismorio was the May guest, and Julie Voice is upcoming. Ray also has a writers’ group that meets at the JFK Library.

Suisun Poet Laureate Excalibur is performing at both Pride and Juneteenth in Suisun City. Info below.

Suisun Juneteenth is June 15 & 16 Harbor Plaza, 520 Solano St, Suisun City, CA 94585
https://juneteenth-suisun.com

Suisun Pride takes place 12-5PM on June 2nd at Harbor Plaza, 520 Solano St, Suisun City, CA 94585

https://www.suisun.com/Events-directory/Suisun-City-Pride-Event

Vallejo Center for the Arts – A Poetry Writing Workshop – June 29, July 6 & 13. 11:30 AM – 1 PM 324 Virginia Street Vallejo Facilitated by Co-Poets Laureate Kathleen Herrmann & Jacalyn Eyvonne, youth ages 8-14. RSVP here.

Events outside of Solano County

Benicia Literary Arts will have a booth at the Bay Area Book Festival Outdoor Fair 2024 on Sunday, June 2nd, 2024 from 11 AM to 5 PM. The booth will be located at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park located at 151 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Berkeley, CA 94704.

The Revolutionary Poets Brigade will be reading at the North Beach Library at 11 AM on Saturday June 8th in celebration of World Oceans Day. The North Beach Library is located at 850 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133.

Three poets from out of state will be performing at the Beat Museum in San Francisco on July 13th at 7 PM. Tom Murphy is a former poet laureate of Corpus Christi Texas, Nathan Brown is a former Oklahoma State Poet Laureate and PW Covington is a beat poet. Tom Murphy is a former bay area poet. Tom is also going to attend the open mic at the Townhouse on Wednesday, July 10th.

D.L. Lang will be traveling back to Oklahoma to perform with the Woody Guthrie Poets on July 13th at 11 AM at Woody Guthrie Folk Fest in Okemah. The Woody Guthrie Poets have three readings this year:

• Friday, July 12 @ 7:00: Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave, OKC 73108
• Saturday, July 13 @ 11:00 am : History Center, 407 W Broadway St, Okemah, OK 74859
• Sunday, July 14 @ 2 pm: Woody Guthrie Center, 102 E. Mathew B. Brady St., Tulsa, OK 74103

D.L. Lang has been invited to feature at 3rd Saturday Poetry in Chinatown at Clarion SF at 2 Waverly Place in San Francisco on August 17th from 1 to 3 PM. Co-features TBA.

County Fairs

You can view poetry on display at these Bay Area county fairs. These fairs will also accept entries from Solano County residents.

• Alameda County Fair is June 14-July 7 in Pleasanton, CA.
• Solano County Fair is June 13-16 in Vallejo, CA.
• Marin County Fair is July 3-7 in San Rafael, CA.

We recommend you join the Google Groups for both Benicia and Vallejo for more timely announcements. This post is only a small selection of upcoming events known to us at the time of posting. We also share anthology calls and other opportunities.