Mayor Bass of Los Angeles Initiates Search for Next City Poet Laureate

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has initiated the search for a new poet laureate to represent the city.

The position, offering a $10,000 stipend, comes with specific expectations rather than being open to all perspectives.

The selected poet will act as a “cultural ambassador,” tasked with organizing “inclusive poetry events” and engaging communities that traditionally lack access to creative writing opportunities, as outlined in the job description.

The role requires the poet to “amplify the voices of diverse communities.”

In other words, the ideal candidate should be well-versed in contemporary social issues.

The call for applications invites “master writers” with a minimum of ten years of publication experience to “step forward and become that voice,” emphasizing the “civic importance of literature, poetry, and the spoken word.”

Part of the laureate’s duties will also be to headline poetry events across the city, particularly those geared towards Angelenos “that have historically had limited access to expressive writing,” the release said.

Pockets of LA that were historically deprived of economic opportunity on the basis of race, namely neighborhoods like Compton, Watts and Crenshaw, famously built the West Coast rap and hip hop empires — which many regard as its own breed of spoken word art.

Bass said: “Los Angeles thrives when every voice has the opportunity to be heard. The Poet Laureate program ensures that poets from all backgrounds can share their work, engage communities across every neighborhood, and inspire Angelenos of all ages.

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“This program is not only about celebrating talent – it’s about building connections, fostering creativity, and making the arts accessible and inclusive for everyone in our city.”

The program is run in partnership with the Los Angeles Public Library and the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs.

City Librarian John F. Szabo boasted that the program, which has been collecting dust for four years, “underscores the Library’s commitment to fostering meaningful cultural exchange through language and storytelling.”

The inaugural poet laureate, Eloise Klein Healy, held the title from 2012 to 2014 before it was handed off to Luis J. Rodriguez. His term lasted three years before Robin Coste Lewis took over.

The program took a pause after Lewis’ run fizzled out in 2019. Lynne Thompson was selected to helm the dying program in 2021, but bowed out just one year later.

Healy, 83, is best known for her feminist-forward works that hone in on “the influence of place on people,” according to her Poetry Foundation profile.

Lewis, 62, thrived in a similar realm, with pieces of her work appearing in “The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review,” according to Poetry Foundation.

In 2021, long after his stint concluded, Rodriguez, 71, launched a short-lived campaign for governor of California. He narrowly secured 124,000 votes in the primary, according to Ballotopedia.

Thompson, a lawyer-turned-laureate, leans more into themes like family, nature, and her upbringing as a child of Caribbean immigrants, according to her website.

Bass will appoint the winner in April 2026, just in time for National Poetry Month. All applications are due on Feb. 20.