San Diego's poets laureate on being a 'government artist' and knocking poetry off its pedestal

What does it mean to be a "government artist" in San Diego?Outgoing Poet Laureate Jason Magabo Perez shares the lessons he's learned from his two-year term, where he brought the city's neighborhoods to life through his vivid poetry. As Paola Capó-García takes on the mantle, she talks about her plans to bring a fresh perspective to the role and expand poetry's reach."I think that poetry has a way of winning anyone over if you're showing them that a poem can look and feel and sound like anything, that there's humor in poetry, that decoding a poem can feel like a game that you do with friends. And how one line or one word can have infinite meanings," Capó-García said.In this conversation, both poets dive into how they demystify poetry for students and the public, and how they can connect and uplift San Diego's diverse communities through verse.Guests:Paola Capó-García, San Diego poet laureate (2025-27), Professional Learning Coordinator at High Tech High Graduate School of EducationJason Magabo Perez, San Diego poet laureate emeritus (2023-24), Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies at California State University San MarcosDavid Tomas Martinez, writerWatch: David Tomas Martinez shares a poem from his second collection, "Post Traumatic Hood Disorder"Poems read in this episode:YellowPaola Capó-GarcíaWhen I was young I thought the soul was a body partTo the right of my heart and in between the pre-breaststhis soul-thing would nest—and then one day it fell out?—No It stuck around too longand made a house of my insides The walls wereyellow which I now know is the color of hunger andthat's why I crave baby chicks and gold Therewas so much furniture shoved inside of me and even ifthe décor was mid-century, the style was mortal Mymemory is hungry She wanted me to paint my faceevery morning Makeup could enhance bettermake use of this face But then my dog licked the secondface off clean That is my favorite movieFrom "CLAP FOR ME THAT'S NOT ME" (Rescue Press, 2018).Found Fragment on AmbitionDavid Tomas Martinezv.if a hood is a sense of place& a sense of place is identitythen identity is a hood & adulthood is being insecure in anyhood a hood scares the whitestfolks why folks scared to stopin the hood & why folks stopwearing a hood & call it whitenationalism if i tried i wouldfail to pass if i failed i wouldtry to pass when can i retire mybowl stop needing to beg for myperson hood you see academicallymy ghetto pass was revoked pleasesir can you direct me to the windowto turn in my man card wherecan i apply to enter the whitenessprotection program ive lostmy found identity is a hooda hood is a sense of placea place places a hood hood in usFrom "Post Traumatic Hood Disorder" (Sarabande Books, 2018).We Draft Work Songs for the CityJason Magabo PerezHere is a parable,a prayer, perhaps,for those unmapped;Here are new studentsconsidering new lives,new interrogations, newfootnotes, but no newfriendships, no news. None.Still, the problem of loans.Still, the problem of rent.Still, the problem of property.This alley off University isa gallery of abandoned mattressesStacked against limp wire fencing thatleans against wood panels thatshade the driveway where theunmapped fall asleep.Ancestral spirits areno less spectacle thanprincipled remembrance:The craft of this tissuewe often call ourselves.From "I ask about what falls away" (Kaya Press, 2024).MobilityPaola Capó-GarcíaI keep finding people living in my house mouths I've never seen expressions through paint chips and light fixtures     ‎I keep coming back to this place I label "house" because my plane tickets are designed to get me here and the bed has been made in the shape of an invitationI learned to ride a bike on Wednesday and felt new     I always resisted I didn't know how to balance on pavement or glitter     I didn't know why that would be required of me     this bike does not know the road to my houseWebsite says woman in tight dress slips on butter for twenty minutes, calls it art      well what would you call that?     an accident?      It seems really lovely to me      how the butter would go in and out of her pores as if it's always been trying to get back to that placeFrom "CLAP FOR ME THAT'S NOT ME" (Rescue Press, 2018).Jason and Paola's literary influences:I Was Born With Two Tongues  ("Pillars" plays in episode)Talib Kweli / Black Star ("Definition" plays in episode)Fredrico  García LorcaLangston HughesPoems Paola often shares with her students:Lucille Clifton on the origins of poetry"A Small Needful Fact" by Ross Gay"Literature of Resistance Re-Imagined with Pepsi" by Tiffany MidgePhotos: San Diego’s poets laureate, captured between words and worldsMentioned in this episode:San Diego Poetry Futures | Poetry initiative from Jason Magabo Perez that brings people together through workshops, collabs and community verse Love Hoops NYC | New York City-based basketball collective hosting open runs, skills sessions and events that build community on and off the courtAda Limón, United States poet laureateLee Herrick, California poet laureateSources:City of San Diego Poet Laureate (City of San Diego, 2020-2025) Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowships (Academy of American Poets)Creating Poets Laureate Positions in States, Cities, U.S. Territories, and Tribal Nations (Academy of American Poets)San Diego Poet Laureate wraps up term by dreaming and planting seeds in new festival (KPBS, December 2024)"Here’s why Kendall Jenner's Pepsi ad is so controversial" (Washington Post, May 2017)Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Admin (The Art Story)