California Poets in the Schools, Mendocino County Office of Education and the Arts Council of Mendocino County announce the 2024 Youth Poet Laureate,Mendocino High School Junior Frej Barty. Frej is ready to start his term as Mendocino County’s second ever Youth Poet Laureate. Frej is an aspiring filmaker, cinematographer, and general multi-hyphenate…

Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life…

Mendocino Poets in the Schools and the Arts Council of Mendocino County seek applications for the position of Mendocino County Youth Poet Laureate, 2023-24. The person selected will strive to advance awareness of and appreciation for literary arts and humanities within Mendocino county…

Our outgoing Mendocino County Youth Poet Laureate Sidney Regelbrugge has released her first collection of poetry: Questions Asked in the Midst of Midnight. Entering senior at Point Arena High School, Sidney has plans to continue writing and plans to help mentor the new poet laureate when they are chosen in November 2023…Stay tuned for her book reading announcements and more…

Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. This year, to follow the lead of the National and the Statewide POL competition, the Mendocino County POL finals will also be virtual…

Coming of age is a young person’s transition from being a child to being an adult. It continues through adolescence. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention (turning 18 and being able to vote) or can be part of a ritual or spiritual event. A few examples in America are Sweet 16s, Quinceañeras, Mitzvahs, hunting trips, adventure journeys. The point is, there is a moment…

“May you live in interesting times” is an old Chinese proverb [a fancy word for “saying”] that has been expressed a lot the last couple of years. Some people say this proverb is actually a curse, since “dealing” with interesting times generally interferes with our ability to live our lives the way we would like to. Wars, weather disasters, pandemics are all examples of times that feel much more “cursed” than “interesting”. So what is in it for us? How do we push against conflicts, big and small, to discover…

California Poets in the Schools, Mendocino County Office of Education and the Arts Council of Mendocino County announce the 2022 Youth Poet Laureate, Point Arena High School Sophomore Sidney Regelbrugge. Sidney Regelbrugge is so excited to start on her term as Mendocino County’s Youth Poet Laureate. Sidney has spent her entire life between the forest and the Pacific Ocean. Poetry has been a passion for her since grade school…

Mendocino Poets in the Schools and the Arts Council of Mendocino County seek applications for the position of Mendocino County Youth Poet Laureate. The person selected will strive to advance awareness of and appreciation for literary arts and humanities within Mendocino county…

Today’s lesson is about Personification — a figure of speech where non-living objects are described to seem like people. In other words, personification means representing a non-human thing as if it were human. Personification gives human traits and qualities, such as emotions, desires, sensations, gestures and speech, often by way of a metaphor. Examples include: “the leaves …

A hangout for most of today’s youth, social media is a mixed bag, especially when it comes to the effect of social media on teenagers, those pros and cons are particularly significant. On the plus side, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat can be lifesavers for teens who feel isolated or marginalized. These groups include LGBTQ teens and teenagers struggling with mental health issues. In addition, researchers have found…

Only in the darkness can you see the stars. There are times, when it seems that light will never come. It is the center of winter and its cold and raining (or snowing) and it seems like the light will never return. It can also seem like this inside, that we are thrust into the deep shadows of ourselves, lurking around in negativity and bumping into feelings we did not know existed. Yet, even in the darkness…

Only in the darkness can you see the stars. There are times, when it seems that light will never come. It is the center of winter and its cold and raining (or snowing) and it seems like the light will never return. It can also seem like this inside, that we are thrust into the deep shadows of ourselves, lurking around in negativity and bumping into feelings we did not know existed. Yet, even in the darkness…

Trees are our friends. They talk to me, and maybe they talk to you too. They are transformers: They breathe in what our lungs exhale (carbon dioxide, or CO2), and breathe out what our lungs need (oxygen, or O2). In essence, trees are the lungs of earth, and we owe our biological existence to them.  Life as we know is impossible on a planet with no oxygen. Remember, carbon dioxide…

I think poetry is necessary, especially in times of struggle and crises. Pardon the mixed metaphors, but poetry trumps political discourse. We live in a time when political language is deliberately misused and manipulated – frequently for malicious purposes – to serve and support those in power. This is nothing new…