By Jerry Garcia

Local poet and Executive Director of VCP SoCal Poets Jerry Garcia, author of On Summer Solstice Road (Green Tara Press, 2016) and Trumpets in the Sky (Moontide Press, 2022), posted the following letter to social media and the VCP SoCal Poets website, to kick off the new year and update the literary community on their latest news.

VCP SoCal Poets emanates from the San Fernando Valley. It’s a non-profit organization committed to the cultivation and advancement of poetry in Southern California. Founded during the Covid-19 pandemic, their goal is to provide the camaraderie and spirit of the original Valley Contemporary Poets founded by Nan Hunt in 1980.

Dear Friends of the VCP SoCal Poets,

Happy New Year!  I am writing to update you with our upcoming plans.

First of all, I want to thank all those who have supported our reading series over the past 2 years.  I am grateful to all the poets who have brought their talents to our virtual stage.  To list you all here would take too much space, but all can be found at our website www.vcpsocal.org.

Thanks to those who have attended our readings and especially you who have become “regulars.”  With sorrow I tell you that Doug Knott, who was a featured reader and regular attendee, passed away on December 23.  Doug was a sincere friend to many and emblematic of a Southern California Poet.  Our next reading on January 29th will be dedicated to Doug.  That reading will feature stalwarts of the Los Angeles Poetry Scene:  Harry Northup, Florence Weinberger, and Judith Pacht.  Details will be announced on our website and via email.

On February 26th, 2023 I will be stepping down as Executive Director of the VCP SoCal Poets. I will be leaving the series in the capable hands of co-directors Elizabeth Iannaci and Bryn Wickerd, both of whom have offered invaluable help during the past year.  In addition, I would like to announce three new co-directors: James Evert Jones, Iván Salinas, and Madi Parsley.

To publicly hand off  to the new co-directors, we will be hosting a live reading at the iconic Beyond Baroque Literary / Arts Center on Sunday, February 26th at 2pm.  Poets reading will be: Laurel Ann Bogen, Michael C Ford, Beth Ruscio, E. Amato, Ashaki Jackson, Robert Krut, and myself. Reservations can be made at http://beyondbaroque.org/calendar.html

Yours in poetry,
Jerry Garcia