Poet Laureate

The City of Lathrop has established a Poet Laureate program to inspire residents, especially the youth, to develop a life-long appreciation of literature, remind the community about the importance of literature and poetry, invest in Lathrop’s human capital and talent and build its capacity and advocacy for reading and literacy programs with funding and support from the Library and Literacy Foundation for San Joaquin.

Qualifications

• The Poet Laureate must create original pieces of work.
• The Poet Laureate must demonstrate a commitment to promoting enjoyment of poetry.
• The Poet Laureate must be 18 years or older.
• The Poet Laureate must be a resident of Lathrop.
• The Poet Laureate must be able to pass a Livescan fingerprinting background check.
• The Poet Laureate must have the ability, willingness and comfort with public speaking.

Requirements

The Poet Laureate program has the goal of accomplishing the following objectives:

• Compose one original poem per year dedicated to the City of Lathrop at a City Council meeting and provide public readings of original work at specific civic events.
• Create and provide public readings of six original pieces of work at the following events:
  • Memorial Day
  • Grandparents Day
  • Juneteenth
  • City Incorporation July 1^st
  • Veterans Day
  • Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting

• Collaborate with the Youth Advisory Commission to host a teen spoken word / poetry slam event.
• Collaborate with the Senior Advisory Commission to host a poetry workshop for seniors.
• Collaborate with the San Joaquin County Library (Lathrop Branch) to host both an early childhood literacy program and a free poetry workshop for the general public, at the library.
• Collaborate with both the Manteca Unified School District and River Islands Academies to host a literacy event at each school located within the City limits.

*Please note that all pieces of poetry will be reviewed prior to public reading to ensure that they are appropriate in nature and refrain from foul language, controversial, religious and / or political content.

Application Process

All Poet Laureate applicants must meet the qualifications listed above and complete the application in its entirety. Submission includes:

• A single page cover letter.
• A total of three (3) sample pieces of your work. Please include poem title and year composed.
• A written narrative of the applicants’ goals as the Poet Laureate.
• Prospective candidates will be invited to attend an in-person panel interview which will include performing one of the applicants’ original pieces of work. Interviews will be held on November 12, 2025 from 4:00pm-6:00pm.

APPLICATION