SoulFood, Part 1 - City Seeks Poet Laureate

Soulfood Cafe and Book Store hosts live Music Wednesday (7pm), Friday and Saturday (8pm) and poetry readings once a month. The cozy stage is to the right. Click photo to see the art.

I took my wife to see SoulFood Cafe & Book Store this week; she didn't want to leave. She was drawn to the "pendulum stones". I found a City Arts Commission bulletin asking for applicants for Poet Laureate; then discovered a collection of poetry once read by authors on stage. The store owner, Clint, is a Redmond Arts Commissioner and is a big supporter of the Poet Laureate position. He holds poetry readings on stage regularly in his Cafe. The store is on 15748 Redmond Way (near Ben Franklin).

According to the city, the Poet Laureate position is intended to broaden the awareness of poetry in our community, elevate the discourse during City debate and discussion and express the essence of Redmond through poetry.

To be qualified, applicants must be established or published poets, must live in Redmond or must have a Redmond mailing address or have a significant record of active participation in Redmond’s literary arts organizations. Applicants must also be active in the poetry community and be willing to promote poetry in Redmond throughout a three year term. The position comes with a stipend.

To apply or for more information, contact Mary Yelanjian, Arts Administrator at 425-556-2316 or myelanjian@redmond.gov. Applications due by July 1, 2009.