About the Santa Clara County Poet Laureate Program - Public Affairs, Office of (DEP)

Background

On November 18, 2008, at the request of President Kniss, the Board of Supervisors approved the creation of an honorary post of Santa Clara County Poet Laureate and directed administration to work with Arts Council of Silicon Valley and Santa Clara County Library to develop a process to select a nominee for Board appointment to the post, and to develop an agreement with the selected poet.

A call for applications was issued on January 7, 2009. Applications were due by February 17, 2009. Materials were posted on the websites of the County Library, the County of Santa Clara, and Arts Council Silicon Valley. News releases were issued and the call for Poet Laureate was broadly covered in local, national, and international media.

Arts Council Silicon Valley administered the selection process which included both peer review ratings and interviews. The candidates were rated on artistic merit, commitment to the community, and the alignment of the proposed public projects with the mission of the post of Poet Laureate. The ratings were compiled and the top three candidates were referred for interviews.

The interviews were completed on March 17, 2009. Nils Peterson, Professor Emeritus, San Jose State University emerged as the recommended nominee for the post of Santa Clara County Poet Laureate.

Mission

The Santa Clara County Poet Laureate is an honorary two-year post. The nominee is appointed by the County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors. The mission of the Poet Laureate is to:

Elevate poetry in the awareness of Santa Clara County residents and to help celebrate the literary arts;
Serve as an advocate for poetry, literature, and the arts;
Lead a community project that makes poetry more accessible; and
Contribute to Santa Clara County’s poetry and literary legacy.