The Office of Arts & Culture's Arts Beat blog just announced the name of Seattle's new Civic Poet. What's a Civic Poet, you ask? OAC explains that the new role "serves as an ambassador for Seattle’s rich literary landscape and represents the city’s diverse cultural community," usually in the form of public appearances and workshops. It's a two-year appointment, and it pays $10,000. (Hooray for paying writers for their work!) Our newest Civic Poet is Claudia Castro Luna. OAC explains:
Luna was born in El Salvador and came to the U.S. as a young teenager fleeing civil war. Since then she has completed a Master of Arts in Urban Planning, a teaching degree, and a Master of Fine Arts in poetry. Luna is a K-12 certified teacher with a passion for arts education and teaching immigrants. In 2012, she earned a Master of Fine Arts in poetry from Mills College.
Read more at Arts Beat. Congratulations to Claudia Castro Luna! SRoB bashfully admits that we're not familiar with her work, but we're excited for that to change very soon.
UPDATE 4:49 PM: Ross Reynolds interviewed Claudia Castro Luna today on The Record. Listen all the way to the end of the interview, where she discusses setting up a "poetic grid" that stretches across Seattle. We like her already.