SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — After a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Laureate Trail has returned to El Dorado County. 

A collaboration between Arts and Culture El Dorado and the El Dorado County Library, the Laureate Trail features Poet Laureate Lara Gularte visiting all six libraries in the county for free poetry readings, workshops, open mics, and more. 

Gularte will be joined on the trail by Poets Laureate past and future, as well as special guests, including the winner of the 2023 El Dorado County Poetry Out Loud competition.

“The Laureate Trail is an especially visible example of how the Poet Laureate engages with the community and enriches the literary arts in El Dorado County,” said Jordan Hyatt-Miller, development and program associate at Arts and Culture El Dorado. “These free events are open to anyone who wants to meet the Poet Laureate, learn more about the literary arts, or enjoy some great poetry. As a collaboration with the El Dorado County Library, these events are a terrific way to promote literacy, build community, uncover connections, and start conversations throughout the county. We’re so excited to be back on the trail with Lara Gularte.”

The Laureate Trail begins in South Lake Tahoe, on Wednesday, June 22, with a special reading, open mic, and book signing. Gularte will be joined by Suzanne Roberts, who served as Poet Laureate from 2018 to 2020. The final stop on the trail will be at the Placerville library on April 29, 2023, where Gularte will be joined by special guests, including the 2023 Poetry Out Loud champion and the next Poet Laureate. The full schedule is below.  

The post of El Dorado County Poet Laureate is bestowed on a noted local poet to honor their body of work and to celebrate poetry as an art form. Consideration is given to the caliber of work, engagement with poets and writers in the community, and the critical acclaim the work has garnered. The post entails a two-year term.

“I am very excited to have you come with me on the Laureate Trail,” said Gularte. “We will gather together, making our words come alive with meaning, and our creative literacy be a force.” 

Gularte hosts “Poetry of the Sierra Foothills” monthly readings and is a member of the Red Fox Underground Poets, a longstanding local poetry writing group. Her published works include “Kissing the Bee” and, most recently, “Fourth World Woman.” Nominated for several Pushcart Prizes, Gularte has been published in national and international journals and anthologies. She is affiliated with the Cagarro Colloquium: Azorian Diaspora Writers at the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute, California State University-Fresno. In addition, Gularte is a proud member of the “Escritores Del Nuevo Sol” writers’ group and serves as a creative writing instructor for the Arts in Corrections program at Mule Creek prison.For more information about the Laureate Trail, visit https://artsandcultureeldorado.org/laureate-trail.