Staff Report.Poet Laureate
PREPARED BY: Ryan Baker
Library Director
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Finance Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 04/06/2021 ITEM NO: 4
DATE: April 6, 2021
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Appoint Jen Siraganian to the Honorary Position of Town Poet Laureate for a
Term Beginning April 2021 and Concluding December 2023
RECOMMENDATION:
Appoint Jen Siraganian to the honorary position of Town Poet Laureate for a term beginning
April 2021 and concluding December 2023
BACKGROUND:
The Town Poet Laureate is an honorary position established in 2010 to further the appreciation
and advancement of poetry and literary arts in Los Gatos. Since the establishment of this
position, Council has appointed four individuals to serve: Parthenia Hicks served from 2010
through 2012, Erica Goss served from 2013 through 2015, Stan Garber served from 2016
through 2018, and Michael Haley McCullough served from 2019 through 2020.
To determine the next Town Poet Laureate, a selection committee was formed consistent with
Town Council Policy 2-06: Town Poet Laureate Selection. The committee was composed of
Mayor Sayoc, Arts and Culture Commissioner Amy Fasnacht, and Library Board Commissioner
Lyn Dougherty. Poet Laureate applications were announced and released on December 9, 2020
via Town and Library social media channels, websites, and press release.
By the deadline of January 22, 2021, three qualified applications were received. The committee
interviewed all candidates on March 10, 2021. After discussion, the committee unanimously
decided to recommended Jen Siraganian for the position of Town Poet Laureate.
PAGE 2 OF 2 SUBJECT: Poet Laureate DATE: April 6, 2021
DISCUSSION:
Jen Siraganian is a writer, educator, and literary organizer. She has served as Managing
Director for Litquake: San Francisco’s Literary Festival, been nominated for a Ruth Lilly
Fellowship and a Pushcart Prize, earned scholarships from Community of Writers at Squaw
Valley and Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, and authored a poetry chapbook titled
“Fractured.” Her writing has appeared in Best New Poets 2016, Cream City Review, Mid-
American Review, Smartish Pace, Barrow Street, Southwest Review, Not Somewhere Else But
Here: A Contemporary Anthology of Women and Place, and other literary journals and
anthologies.
If the Town Council appoints Jen Siraganian as the Town Poet Laureate, her term of
appointment will begin on April 6, 2021 and end on December 31, 2023. Town staff will work
with her as needed to facilitate programs and collaborate on projects to ensure a successful
term.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no anticipated fiscal impact associated with the appointment of the Town Poet
Laureate and its programs or projects.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.
Attachments:
1. Sample of Jen Siraganian’s poems