Declared by Mayor Anne Rudin in 1986 to celebrate the groundbreaking publishing of Landing Signals, the first anthology of Sacramento poets, and the ongoing publishing efforts of SPC, Sacramento Poetry Day was reintroduced in 2022 when Sacramento Poet Laureate Andru Defeye received a fellowship from the American Academy of Poets.

2022 saw poetry come to life like never before for the Sacramento community through the creation of a locally sourced poetry curriculum made available for free to over 250,000 students in Sacramento area schools as well as a cash-prize contest, citywide poetry collection, and a ceremony honoring some of the most powerful voices in our community.

In 2023 we launched a campaign to reach even more of Sacramento by teaming with the Sacramento Library, the Sacramento Poetry Center, Sol Collective, and some of the most influential creatives in the city to continue exposing youth of all ages to the power of poetry and storytelling.

In 2024 we were approached by the City of Sacramento about elevating Sacramento Poetry Day into Sacramento Poetry Week. ::Deep breath:: ::Screams anyway:: WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!

So this year we’re expanding the curriculum, bringing back the contests and the gala, and highlighting some of Sacramento’s most impactful poets and events all week long.

This year in addition to building on our community partnerships with the The Sacramento Poetry Center, Sacramento Library, Sol Collective, and others we’re adding the Poetry Pays partnership with Regional Transit and mental health support partnerships with Sacramento Native American Health Center and local therapists and holistic health practitioners.

We are also incredibly proud to announce that 2024 will see the first ever Span(gl)ish event and curriculum. Sacramento has a famously rich history of Span(gl)ish poetry from our elders past like Jose Montoya and Francisco X. Alarcon to our city’s current poetas and poetisas.

We are working on a few more surprises too.

Special thanks to the City of Sacramento for seeing us. Special thanks to the poets and poetry lovers that are working so hard to make history with the inaugural Sacramento Poetry Week. Special thanks to the educators utilizing the curriculum in their classrooms. Special thanks to all of our sponsors and donors - we literally couldn’t do it without you. Special thanks to the people who write and perform the poems the other 51 weeks of the year that offer healing, comfort, and wisdom to our community. Your work is so important and so valued in Sacramento.

Looking forward to another amazing year with even more to come.

Thank you Sacramento.