Gillian Wegener and Steve McKay

On the 8/9/23 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:Modesto poet laureate emerita Gillian Wegener joins Dr. Andy to talk about the power of a poet laureate, the balance between familiarity and exploration when writing, and her work as founding president of the Modesto-Stanislaus Poetry Center. She reads two poems, putting the poetry in Poetry and Technology Hour. Putting the technology in Poetry and Technology Hour is Dr. Andy’s next guest Steve McKay, who discusses growing up listening to KDVS, the evolution of information sharing and education, and the important work he’s taking on as Instructional Media and Creative Services Manager at UC Davis.Gillian Wegener is the author of The Opposite of Clairvoyance (2008) and This Sweet Haphazard (2017), both from Sixteen Rivers Press. She is the founding president of Modesto-Stanislaus Poetry Center, a regional nonprofit promoting poetry in Stanislaus County, and a former poet laureate of Modesto, CA. Steve McKay is a native Sacramentan, growing up listening to KDVS as an ‘80s teen before leaving to serve in the Army during the Cold War fresh out of high school. He studied journalism at Sacramento State, embarked on his early career as a photojournalist for regional newspapers, then returned to Sac State to join the university’s public affairs team, where he led a multimedia production group. His proudest accomplishment was leading a statewide campaign focused on opioid abuse prevention for the California Department of Public Health. Along the way he taught photojournalism and media courses in the Los Rios Community College District. Just prior to joining UC Davis, Steve headed a team at the California Public Employees Retirement System responsible for video and event production.The Modesto-Stanislaus Poetry Center will hold its 10th Anniversary Gala, featuring readings by California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick and Stan City Youth Poet Laureate Faith Delgado, on Saturday, September 23, 2023. Tickets can be purchased at https://poetrygala2023.brownpapertickets.com/.Iris Dunkle will read with Allegra Silberstein at the Poetry Night Reading Series on August 17th.Find out more about Dr. Andy's Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting http://www.poetryindavis.com. Invite your friends to sign up for the mailing list. To learn more about Dr. Andy’s tiny media fiefdom, subscribe to his weekly newsletter at https://andyjones.substack.com.