Monday Top 10: Gillian Wegener, Modesto poet laureate

The Monday Top 10 delves into the minds of some of the Modesto region’s movers and shakers. This week, Modesto Poet Laureate Gillian Wegener shares the Top 10 things about the poetry scene in Modesto:

1. There is, in fact, a poetry scene. The Central Valley long has been a hotbed of poetic activity, and in the past 20 years, poetry has really bloomed right here in Modesto. There are readings, poetry events, publications and a strong support system of poetry groups throughout Modesto and Stanislaus County.

2. The city of Modesto supports poetry. There is the annual Poets’ Corner Contest. This contest is open to poets of all ages and experience levels. The 2015 contest included poets ranging in age from 8 to 90. Any poet in Stanislaus County is eligible to submit work. Winning poems are published in a small anthology, and a lovely reading and reception are held at the McHenry Museum. The city also supports poetry by appointing a poet laureate every two to four years.

3. A poet laureate is the official poet of the city. This means that he or she writes poems that might honor, commemorate, memorialize or celebrate local happenings and community members at the request of the city or community groups.

4. There is poetry everywhere. Sometimes people ask if it is difficult to write poetry on demand as poet laureate, and the answer is yes, sometimes it is. Luckily, there really is poetry everywhere. In the curve of the Modesto arch across the morning sky, in the cracks in the dirt in the dry field, in the rows and rows of newly planted almond trees and in the “WPA 1940” stamp in the sidewalk on College Avenue. There is a lot to write about here, and I think that is, in part, why there are so many poets.

5. There’s something for everyone. There are about as many kinds of poetry as there are poets, but in our area, two kinds of poetry stand out. One of these is slam poetry. This is performance poetry and really was brought to the attention of people in our area by Sam Pierstorff. Slam poetry is exciting, often irreverent and always high energy. The Ill List Poetry Slam, a nationally renowned annual event, happens each December. Poets come from all over the United States to participate.

Page poetry is a more traditional poetry, less focused on performance and more on the words and the images themselves. This is the kind of poetry most people think of when they think of poetry readings. There are poets right here in Modesto who will rock your world while reading their work to you.

6. There are many opportunities to hear poetry and to read your own poetry. There is a monthly reading held at the Barkin’ Dog in downtown Modesto. There is a quarterly series at the Carnegie Arts Center in Turlock, and there is a monthly series at the Queen Bean. All of these series also have an open-mike portion of the reading, and the audience members here are warm and encouraging.

There are also other poetry events, like the recent Pen Women exhibition of art and poetry held at the Carnegie Arts Center this spring and like the upcoming Collision show, scheduled for August at the Mistlin Gallery, which brings poets and photographers together to create new work, as well as the poetry contest for the October’s Northern California Women’s Music Festival.

7. An up-and-coming poet. We are very lucky to have many incredibly talented poets in our area, but one I think is taking our region by storm right now is Modesto resident Stella Beratlis. Her debut collection came out in April. It is called “Alkali Sink” (Sixteen Rivers Press, 2015), and it is amazing.

8. The Modesto-Stanislaus Poetry Center. Also known as MoSt, it’s a local nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote poetry throughout Stanislaus County – and Stanislaus County through poetry. We started this group in order to bring poetry to segments of our community that can’t necessarily come out to readings and poetry events. We also run the Second Tuesday Poetry Series at the Barkin’ Dog and the Sunday Reading Series at the Carnegie Arts Center, and we host a yearly one-day poetry festival in which we invite a well-known poet to run workshops.

9. How does MoSt Poetry Center work? We have a fundraiser each year in the spring, but a lot of our support comes from memberships. People can sign up at various levels. See www.mostpoetry.org for more information. MoSt Poetry Center does not have a physical location, but, luckily, poetry is portable. You can keep track of us on Facebook, through MeetUp.com and by being on our email contact list. To do that, just write to info@mostpoetry.org and we’ll add you to the list.

10. Poetry, schmoetry. What’s the big deal? Poetry is easy to write off. A lot of people dislike it, think they don’t get it or think it doesn’t apply to them, but the reality is that we turn to poetry in our most emotional times. It is poetry that connects us to one another, that makes us more intensely a part of humanity in a way that no other art can do quite so effectively. I was recently at an event where a young poet was looking through a booklet of poetry written by a bunch of local poets. The young poet read a poem that really appealed to her. She turned to me with a look of recognition in her eyes. “This is so good,” she said. “This could be about me.” Imagine her surprise when I let her know the poem had been written by a 90-year-old poet in our town. She couldn’t believe that something that spoke to her 20-something self could have been written by someone so much older, but that is what poetry does. Poetry is for us all.

This story was originally published June 5, 2015 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Monday Top 10: Gillian Wegener, Modesto poet laureate."