'Why Is This a Poem?' Sacramento Poet Laureate will share

Sacramento Poet Laureate Emeritus Bob Stanley will explain how poetry, both traditional and modern, has enriched his life in many ways for the last five decades at the Sept. 17 Gold Country Writers meeting. The event starts at 10 a.m. and runs to noon at the Auburn City Hall Rose Room, 1225 Lincoln Way. Stanley will provide ideas for publishing, and focus on writing itself as an important component of a full life. In addition, he will read some of his poems and poems by other writers. Stanley studied Poetry and Literature at Caltech and UCLA in the 1970s. After working in his family's automotive business for nearly 30 years, he returned to college to earn a Master's degree in English at Sacramento State in 2005. Stanley taught English and Creative Writing at Sacramento City College and Sacramento State before retiring in 2021. He was president of the Sacramento Poetry Center from 2007 to 2019, and Sacramento's fifth Poet Laureate, serving from 2009 to 2012. His most recent book of poetry is Language Barrier (2024). His books include Walt Whitman Orders a Cheeseburger (2009), Miracle Shine (2013) and Language Barrier (2024). Stanley and his wife, Joyce, live in Sacramento and organize online poetry seminars that help support nonprofit organizations. For more information, check www.goldcountrywriters.com. The presentation is free and open to the public.