Sacramento poets shine at first Poetry Week

Marie-Elena Schembri | Sacramento decision

When Andru Defay became Sacramento’s poet laureate in February 2020, he had not yet heard of Sacramento Poetry Day, declared more than 30 years ago by Sacramento Mayor Anna Rudin. Last week, however, Defay became an integral part of the development of Rudin’s 1986 vision; transforming the city into a playground for poets and performers with daily open mics, a free poetry bootcamp and other events during the first-ever Poetry Week in Sacramento.

The week-long celebration was a collaboration between DeFay and Allison Jo, a senior policy advisor at the mayor’s office. “We wanted to highlight the poets and events that have truly made Sacramento the Poetry Capital of California, which was officially declared by the City Council two years ago,” DeFay said.

Sacramento Poetry Week included the launch of a pilot program offering mental health resources to poets through a collaboration with the Sacramento Native American Health Center and free K-12 poetry. syllabus for teachers. The curriculum was designed to meet the California Core Education Standards for poetry, language, and comprehension.

Including works by musician and NPR Tiny Desk laureate The Philharmonik, former Sacramento Poet Laureate, and artist/activist Jose Montoya, bilingual classes and optional live Zoom sessions with local poets, the curriculum “looks and feels like the city,” according to Defay.

Poet Sage performs at the Mahogany Urban Poetry open mic on Wednesday, October 23 at Our Place Kitchen in Sacramento. (Photo by Janine Mapurunga)

Bilingual events hosted by Sol Collective, an open mic at Bear Dive hosted by Speak Out! Sac and Sac Queer Takeover, plus additional events at the Torch Club and the Sacramento Poetry Center. The week was dedicated to uplifting diverse voices, themes and poetic styles, culminating on Saturday, October 26, Sacramento Poetry Day.

The poets were stationed at three Sacramento regional transit stations, where members of the public and poets received free travel for submitting a poem. Poem in Hand also earned entry to the Crocker Art Museum for the day, which included performances by renowned poets Roni Bhopla, Emmanuel Sigauke, Aisha Jones, Patrick Grizzell, Cloudy and Carol Lynn Stevenson Grellas, and an open mic event.

Liliana Mendez-Soto, a Sacramento poet who attended several of the week’s events, including Crocker’s Open Poetry Night, called the museum’s event “fantastic” and said the week was a “wonderful dive” into eclectic poetry events.

For Denisha “Coco” Blossom – poet, writer and teacher – devoting an entire week to poetry is “something big.”

Poet Diwakat performs at the Mahogany Urban Poetry open mic on Wednesday, October 23 at Our Place Kitchen in Sacramento. (Photo by Janine Mapurunga)

“Poetry hasn’t always been recognized in Sacramento,” Blossom said shortly after speaking at the Mahogany Urban Poetry Series on Wednesday night. Mahogany, now in its 25th year, is where up-and-coming poets like Defay cut their teeth.

From the stage, Dufay acknowledged the group’s influence on the city’s poetry community. “Here you have come to find out if you are really a poet. There was someone who would let you know if you needed to read the room,” he said to laughter from a room full of poets and artists.

“Sacramento Poetry Week wouldn’t be what it is without Mahogany,” DeFay said. Blossom credited Defay for bringing public spaces like Mahogany to the forefront of the poetry scene, where young artists of color find opportunities to express themselves through the spoken word (and often song).

Poet Camille Janae performs at the Mahogany Urban Poetry open mic on Wednesday, October 23 at Our Place Kitchen in Sacramento. (Photo by Janine Mapurunga)

“This is very important for us, because we are just now starting to prove ourselves. We get the proper glow. As they said, Mahogany has been around for 25 years. Here we had a church. And now that Sacramental Poetry Week includes that and shines a light on spoken word artists and includes us in the poetry genre, it’s just a blessing. It’s just from here,” Blossom said.

Blossom is the associate director of Sacramento Area Youth Speaks and one of this year’s Sacramento Poetry Day honorees. Other recipients include Mahogany presenter Russell Cummings, 2021 National Youth Poet Laureate Alexandra HuynhSacramento Poetry Center President Patrick Grizzell, Sacramento Poetry Center Tule Review Editor Susan Kelly-DeWitt, HBO Def Poetry Jam’s Dahlak Brathwaite aka HBO Def Poetry Jam, and Hart Poetry Center’s Olga Brown. Poets Camille Janae, Hurricane and Graciela B. Ramirez also share this honor, as well as an educator and member of the writing group Escritores del Nuevo Sol.

During the awards ceremony Sunday night, each poet was awarded a copy of the Sacramento City Council resolution passed earlier this week in recognition of their contributions to Sacramento and the official proclamation of Sacramento Poetry Week.

At the Oct. 22 City Council meeting, Defay used what may have been his final appearance before the council as poet laureate to champion poetry and poets in Sacramento.

“I just launched a citywide drive that will reach over a million people with a free tool for empowerment, mental health and deeper community connections—if you all support it, as stated in this resolution,” he said before the launch. into a poetic, rhythmic plea for further support:

Rapper LOE Gino (with mic) performs at Opus Open Mic accompanied by Isaac Davis (trumpet), Isaiah Guerrero (bass) and Theo “Tsavo” Scott-Femenella (drums) on Thursday, October 24 in Sacramento. (Photo by Janine Mapurunga)

“But too often there is no money in the budget for poetry, like there is for military equipment, police or homeless sweeps. You need to hear these poems and the poems of youth declaring their purpose and place in our city, and the poems of parents finding their way without a road map, and the poems of elders finding joy and hope to hold on. The whole city is a verse if you learn to listen to it as one. You can see poetry in motion as hopes and dreams become reality as we express ourselves.”

This article was funded by a City of Sacramento Arts and Creative Economy Journalism Grant. Sacramento decision. In accordance with our code of journalistic ethics and protocols, the city had no editorial influence on this story, and no city official reviewed it before publication. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, Capital Public Radio, Outword, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review, Sacramento Observer and Univision 19. Sign up for our Sac Art Pulse newsletter here..