Glendale Library, Arts & Culture and the city of Glendale invite you to join Glendale’s poet laureate Raffi Wartanian at his first of four community poetry workshops.
The first workshop and reading, titled “Unearthing Roots: the heritages we herald and hide,” is free and open to all levels. It will be held at the Brand Library Recital Hall today, July 22, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The workshop will feature Los Angeles poet laureate Lynne Thompson and Linda Ravenswood of the Los Angeles Press, and activities will include writing, reading, workshopping, performance and discovery; light refreshments will be provided.
Additional poetry workshops and readings will be held quarterly around Glendale throughout the year. If you have poetry or creative collaboration ideas that you would like to submit to Glendale’s poet laureate, you can do so by visiting EGlendaleLAC.org/PoetLaureate or emailing poetlaureate@glendaleca.gov.
Wartanian is the city of Glendale’s first poet laureate. The position serves as an ambassador for Glendale’s rich culture and diversity, promoting the art of poetry. As poet laureate, Wartanian will develop a project that engages community members of all ages in poetry writing, performance, and poetry appreciation; write a poem that celebrates Glendale’s rich culture and diversity; and read poetry aloud at special events throughout the city.
Following a grassroots call from a citizen of Glendale, the request of then Mayor Ardy Kassakhian, and the approval of the City Council, Glendale Library, Arts & Culture created the city’s first poet laureate program and requested applications from resident poets.
Wartanian was selected as Glendale’s first poet laureate in recognition of his accomplishments in poetry and his vision for the “Glendale poet laureate as someone who can utilize writing to promote self-expression, find common ground across communities, and foster solidarity that celebrates diversity while embracing individuality.”
His poems have appeared in No Dear Magazine, h-pem, Ararat Magazine, Armenian Poetry Project and The Armenian Weekly and performed live with the Asian American Writers’ Workshop and International Armenian Literary Alliance.
First published in the July 22 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
