CALPOETS' 2022 VIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM 

FEATURING LUIS J. RODRIGUEZ

Please click "Read More" for full details.

Click here to view the full digital details for this event.  The schedule, subject to minor changes, is posted below.  

This cutting-edge, day-long virtual Poetry Symposium is geared towards all people, teens on up, who have an interest in the literary arts – including poets, writers, teachers, students and more.  Offerings will include creative writing workshops, poetry readings, and presentations geared towards teaching poetry in community settings.  Registration is required but registrants can pick and choose which workshops they participate in.  The conference will occur on ZOOM as a meeting format. The symposium is free.  Donations are encouraged in order to help us cover payments to presenters, and event production. 

For 58 years, California Poets in the Schools has brought the powerful magic of poetry creation and performance to over one million students.  This conference is open to the public and geared towards literary teaching artists (for all audiences), classroom educators, poets, MFA candidates and more.  Content will be engaging for those brand new to teaching the literary arts and to the "old hats" among us.

The conference will be hosted as a Zoom Meeting.  Some of the workshops may have over a hundred attendees, while other workshops will likely be much more intimate.  We are excited to make the most of this versatile, virtual meeting space in order to strengthen our network and build community.

Only registered participants will receive the login information. You are welcome to attend the entire conference or pick and choose workshops that align with your interests.  There is no need to sign up for particular workshops in advance. Simply log off and on to workshops using the Zoom link that will be provided.  

While phoning in to the symposium will be possible, for the best conference experience, we recommend logging in on a computer with a good wifi connection.  The conference will be set up so that each person in attendance will be visible to the rest of the group, however you can turn your own camera off or on.  All participants will be muted, however there may be moments when one or more participants is unmuted to share with the group. 

Symposium Schedule (Click here to view full digital details) 

8:45am-9:00am     Welcome   

9:00am-10:10am   Generative Creative Writing Workshop ~ Luis J. Rodriguez 

10:10am-10:15am Break  

10:15am-11:00am Poetry Reading plus Q&A ~ Luis J. Rodriguez

11:00am-11:10am Breakout Rooms (or break if you'd rather)

11:10am-11:15am Break

11:15am-12:45pm Creative Expression for the Unseen and Unspoken ~ UCLArts & Healing presented by Asia Moore  

12:45pm-1:05pm   Lunch Break  

1:05pm-1:55pm     A Few Great Lessons ~ Poet-Teacher Spotlight ~ Fernando Salinas, Terri Glass & Tureeda Mikell

1:55pm-2:00pm     Break

2:00pm-2:45pm     Youth Poets Laureate Spotlight ~ Genesis Perez, Ella Wen, Madeline Miller & Sidney Regelbrugge

2:45pm-2:55pm     Breakout Rooms (or break if you'd rather)

2:55pm-3:-00pm   Break

3:00pm-4:25pm     Make a Zine! ~ Emily Squires and Aviva McClure

4:25pm-4:30pm     Break

4:30pm-5:00pm     CalPoets' Archive & Digitation Project ~ Michael Willard PH.D.

5:00pm - 5:15pm   Break

5:15pm-6:15pm     CalPoets' Input to the Board ~ David Sibbet, board president

6:15pm-6:35pm     Symposium Closing

6:35pm-7:00pm     Break

7:00pm-8:45pm     Open Mic ~ Juan Luzariaga (emcee)

About Luis Rodriguez:

For over 40 years, Luis has been doing writing workshops, poetry readings, lectures, and healing circles in prisons,

juvenile lockups, jails, migrant camps, Native American reservations, homeless shelters, public & private schools,

colleges, universities, libraries, bookstore, festival, and conferences all over the United States, Mexico, Central America, South America, Europe, and Japan. He has 16 books in all genres, including the bestselling memoir “Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gand Days in L.A.” Luis is the founding editor of Tia Chucha Press and co-founder of Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore in the northeast San Fernando Valley. From 2014 to 2016, he served as Los Angeles’ official Poet Laureate. Luis’s last poetry book, “Borrowed Bones” appeared in 2016. His latest book is 2020’s “From Our Land to Our Land: Essays, Journeys & Imagings of a Native Xicanx Writer.”  Click to learn more:  https://www.luisjrodriguez.com/