California's poet laureate sees writing as 'place of freedom'

April 6, 2023 at 10:01 AM PDT

By Julia Dixon Evans, Maureen Cavanaugh, Julianna Domingo

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The Poet Laureate of San Diego, Jason Magabo Perez (left), the Poet Laureate of California, Lee Herrick (center), and the winner for the Kowit Prize, Julia B. Levine, are shown in undated photos.

On Thursday on Midday Edition, we're talking about arts and culture-related events and things to do in San Diego this weekend.

It’s National Poetry Month, and San Diego’s poetry community is kicking it off with the 2023 Kowit Awards at the San Diego Central Library. We speak with Lee Herrick, California’s newest poet laureate and a featured speaker at the event. He is also the first Asian American to serve in the role. San Diego poet laureate, Jason Magabo Perez, and other local poets of note will also appear.

Then, the Barrio Art Crawl is taking place on Saturday. And this Sunday, the Prebys Play Day: Art Block Party is this month's kid-centric art event at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla. Plus, Jupiter Flight is playing at the Casbah on Saturday night. Nite Lapse, a local band from Chula Vista and Tijuana, will also be performing.

Mathieu Gregoire's "Lines" is shown in an undated photo at ICE Gallery.

Arts & Culture

San Diego weekend arts events: MSG, photography and so many poets

Julia Dixon Evans

This weekend in the arts: Poets laureate at the downtown library; Medium Festival of Photography; indie bands Jupiter Flight and Nite Lapse at the Casbah; Mathieu Gregoire at ICE Gallery; Barrio Art Crawl and Fern St. Circus; "Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play" at The Old Globe; and Prebys Play Day at Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.

Guests:

Julia Dixon Evans, arts producer/editor, KPBS

Lee Herrick, California Poet Laureate