Heres a portrait I painted of Oakland’s Poet Laurete 2014 Sophie Elkin. It is the fifth portrait of an Oakland youth poet that I’ve created for 510 Journal, a project created for Chapter 510 to exhibit and show young peoples creative writing all over Oakland. If you’re in the Bay Area tomorrow, you can listen to her reading some of her work at Pegasus Books (5560 College Ave in Oakland) on Wednesday, February 25 7:30-9pm
Just picked up my posters for the Oakland Youth Poet Laureates last night at the Chapter 510 event promoting a new venture and collaboration. Its is a collaboration between Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland Public Library, and Youth Speaks. The event featured the four poets seen below and poet/artist Freddy Gutierrez. Folks also got to meet many of the volunteers such as Max Gibson that make the programs work and Chapter 510 founders Janet Heller, Erica Lorraine Scheidt, and Mariah Landers. The event was great hearing all of the super talented poets spin their tales of emotion, love, struggle, and life. And it was an honor to meet them and share the artwork with them; secretly hoping that they would approve, which they did.
Check out the new site where there will be a magazine made of poems by the Oakland Poets and several other Oakland Youth. Chapter 510 is doing great work to further literacy, creative writing, and stories here in Oakland needs your support. So please check out the site, give if you can, and definitely share with folks or volunteer with them.