Manteca to join growing list of California cities with poet laureate

The city of Manteca is looking for its first poet laureate.

City council members voted last week to accept a $15,000 grant to start its first Poet Laureate program that will focus on providing support and guidance in the literary arts for the community.

“Poetry has a way of bringing people together, and the poet laureate will play a vital role in enhancing the vibrancy of Manteca,” city recreation and community services manager Brandy Clark said.

The poet laureate would be responsible for composing a poem each year that’s dedicated to the city. They’d also work closely with Manteca Library staff, encouraging the community to write their own poetry by hosting workshops.

Details on the selection process or who will be chosen haven’t been released yet, however the plans are to have a poet selected by this fall.

Manteca will be joining a growing list of cities with poet laureates of their own, including Stockton, Lodi, San Francisco, Vallejo, Santa Barbara and Sacramento, whose program has been running since 2000.

Funding for the grant came from the Library and Literacy Foundation for San Joaquin County, and will allow for the program to run for at least three years.