After appointing its first poet laureate in 2017 and second in 2024, the city of Berkeley is now seeking a third to hold the title.
The role was created to honor a Berkeley-based poet as a creative ambassador of the local art community and mentor to upcoming artists. Rafael Jesús González, who has been involved in the Bay Area’s arts and literary scene since 1968, served as the first poet laureate from 2017 to 2022. He added he was appointed before the role had formalized expectations.
“There was no exact form,” González said. “There were no obligations imposed for me. I received no stipend from the city. It was purely an honor, but I felt that that honor did bring on certain obligations to represent the city in literary events and to use my voice in service of the city.”
González made a point as poet laureate “to honor the beloved city, to praise when it serves justice, to protest when it does not,” speaking at a number of Berkeley community cultural celebrations and social justice rallies over the course of his five-year term.
After González’s term, the role became more formalized, entailing a two-year tenureship for a $5,000 honorarium. During this term, the poet laureate must write one original poem inspired by Berkeley, coordinate at least one public reading event per year, recite a poem at up to five city or library events per year and mentor Berkeley’s Youth Poet Laureate.
The city’s sitting poet laureate, author and UC Berkeley professor Aya de León, will pass the baton in January, after the Civic Arts Commission reviews applications and selects the next poet laureate Dec. 3.
“I think now is the time where we really need to put all our resources behind collective action, so I’m very much going to have my eyes out for who is able to be effective in using the power of the poet laureate position to be effective in organizing our communities,”de León said.
Echoing de León’s sentiments, González said he hopes the next poet laureate “use(s) their position and their words to stand for the highest values of justice and compassion, love and truth.”
The application encourages poets, spoken word artists and other literary artists living in Berkeley to apply to become Berkeley’s poet laureate, emphasizing the importance of having Berkeley roots represented at the head of Berkeley’s arts community.
The application closed Friday, and applicants can expect to hear back about interviews in November. The two-year term begins January 1, 2026.
On concluding her tenure as poet laureate, de León expressed gratitude for her time serving Berkeley in the literary arts community.
“I’ve lived in Berkeley for (more than) 50 years. I went to Berkeley High School … so it’s been really an honor to get to represent Berkeley as a poet,” she said.