Lee with students from McLane High School in Fresno, CA.

What Is Our California?

Our California is a project inspired by Lee Herrick’s poem “My California,” which you can read here.

The project invites all Californians to write a poem about their state and share it. No matter the writer’s age, origin, gender, or background, all are invited to submit their work to the project. The goals of Our California are:

• To encourage Californians to write poetry, to think about their communities, and to realize that their voice is important.

• To inspire Californians to write poetry that uplifts all people through awareness of social justice or civic engagement.

• To elevate poetry writing as a way to explore one's creativity and relationship to place.

(PRESS RELEASE: Introducing Our California)

A Letter from Lee Herrick

Dear Fellow Californians,

I am honored and grateful to serve as California Poet Laureate. As an educator, poet, and resident of California for over fifty years, I love this state for many of the same reasons that you do. California is a place of special natural beauty: mountains, oceans, beaches, national parks, farmland, bustling cities, and small towns. California is the fifth largest economy in the world and the most populous state in the country with approximately 40 million people, approximately 10 million more than the next most populous state.

I was born in Korea and was adopted to the United States when I was an infant. I was raised in Danville and Modesto, and I have lived in Fresno for over twenty-five years now. As California Poet Laureate, I hope to advocate, educate, and serve poetry and California as widely as possible.

Each of us has a unique experience and relationship with California. It is a place of bounty and innovation, opportunity and progress, as well as difficulty and violence, challenges and areas of need. Poetry can be a bridge to personal and societal change. It can show us new ways of seeing ourselves and the world around us. Poetry can illuminate and inspire. Poetry is a way of expressing and imagining the ideas inside of us. I believe there is poetry in everyone. I believe poetry is everywhere in this great state.

With this in mind, in partnership with the California Arts Council, I am pleased to launch a statewide poetry writing project, Our California. Our California invites all Californians to write a poem about their town, city, or "their" state. What do you love about it? What joys does it bring? What would you change about it? How could it be improved?

I hope you will consider joining the chorus of Californians writing about our state. Our California is open to all Californians: all ages, all poetry experience levels, documented or not, free or not. We want to hear your unique voice.

Thank you to each and every one of you for making this great state what it is. Thank you for your poetry, your work with poetry, and your Californian spirit. I look forward to reading your poems as we write about and celebrate our California.

Sincerely,

Lee Herrick
California Poet Laureate

So what’s next? How do I participate?

Write a poem (any form, up to 50 lines) about your town, city, or state. Consider these prompts (or write something completely different!):

Prompt 1: Write a poem about your town, your city, or “your” California. What do you love about it? What joy do you find there? You may also include what you don't love about it and what you would change. What do you envision or hope for?

Prompt 2: Write a poem about a memory or experience rooted in your town, city, or state. What makes the experience unique to the location?

Tips from Lee:

1. Avoid clichés or aphorisms.

2. Use unique, specific details and imagery.

3. Be true to yourself and your ideas.

4. Have fun!

Read some sample poems selected by Lee to get inspired.

We will post submissions in batches here for all to read. Be sure to follow us on social media and sign up for our newsletter for updates on this project and on all of the California Arts Council’s programs!

Submissions must be unpublished works. We will not censor any poems, but we reserve the right to remove poems from our service if they are plagiarized or if they contain content deemed offensive on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity, class, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Submit your poems here!

Lee speaking at Fresno City College (photo Mark Tabay).