The Petaluma Poetry Walk
11am-8pm, Sunday, September 15, 2024
petalumapoetrywalk.org

The Petaluma Poetry Walk is an annual poetry festival founded in September 1996 by the late poet Geri Digiorno. It features over two dozen poets reading their works at eight venues. The event has grown over the years, attracting notable poets and a diverse audience and includes readings in both English and Spanish. During this day-long “movable feast,” participants walk to different locations to enjoy a variety of poetic performances. It has become a tradition in Petaluma, reflecting the city’s rich cultural and literary heritage. Go to petaumapoetrywalk.org for the full day’s schedule of poets and venues.

Readings At The Petaluma Historical Library & Museum
Sunday, September 15, 2024
5:00 – 6:00 PM
Petaluma Historical Library & Museum
20 4th Street (Corner of 4th and B Street)
Free

Please join Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo, Georgina Marie Guardado, and Jodi Hottel at this free event from 5pm-6pm, Sunday, September 15, 2024, at The Petaluma Historical Library and Museum. Introducing the poets will be Sonoma County Youth Poet Laureate, Lisa Zheng, and Youth Poet Ambassador, Sabine Wolpert. The poets’ books will be available for purchase after the reading. John Johnson, Presenter.

Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo earned a BFA in Pictorial Art and a BA in French from SJSU; served as Creative Ambassador of the San José Office of Cultural Affairs; was awarded a Creative Corps Initiative grant from the California Arts Council and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and is the Founder La Raíz Magazine. Her poetry appears widely in journals and elsewhere, including her micro-chapbook, Últimas Scars. ejmontelongo.com

Georgina Marie Guardado writes from land of the Eastern and Northern Pomo peoples of Lake County, Northern California. She was the Poet Laureate of Lake County 2020-2024, the first Mexican American and youngest to serve in this role. She is also of Mojave descent. Her poetry is very much of the self, of grief, of generational trauma, of longing, and of nature. She aims to bring diversity, inclusivity, and inspiration to her local literary community. georginamariepoet.com

Jodi Hottel’s recent chapbook is Out of the Ashes from Pandemonium Press. Previous chapbooks are Voyeur from WordTech Press (2017) and Heart Mountain, winner of the 2012 Blue Light Press Poetry Prize. Jodi’s been published in Nimrod International, Spillway, Ekphrasis, and anthologies including the University of Iowa Press and the Marin Poetry Center. Her work has been twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She lives in Sonoma County. jodihottel.com

Lisa Zheng is a junior at Maria Carrillo High School in Santa Rosa, and is the current Sonoma County Youth Poet Laureate. “My main purpose behind writing these poems, besides personal catharsis, is to give a voice to the psychological turmoils that many teens experience that are often kept in the dark due to shame of admittance, and give them a dose of hope and cause for change.”

Sabine Wolpert is a high school senior and Sonoma County Youth Poet Ambassador 2024-25. A motivated student and social justice advocate, she serves as a representative on her school board’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, and leads eco and activism clubs. She has always had a strong passion for poetry and other forms of artistic expression, and is excited to engage the wider community in the creation and appreciation of these things.