On May 19 Alice Pero will pass her poet laureate crown to Kathleen Travers in a ceremony of music and poetry from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the McGroarty Arts Center, 7570 McGroarty Terrace in Tujunga. Pero, who is the 10th poet laureate of Sunland-Tujunga, will be the last so named.

The laureate program has since expanded to include the vast community of creative writers who reside in the foothills and share a collective love of the history, diversity and panoramic beauty of the area we call home. Travers will be inducted as the first poet laureate of the foothills. Apart from her gifts as a profound writer and eloquent speaker, she brings her art history education and numerous community service endeavors to extend the awareness and reach of the poet laureate program. The event will include readings by each poet of their original work and a musical presentation by Pero on flute and guest pianist Daniel West. This is a free event and all are welcome.

Reflecting on her term of service, Pero was honored to represent the “green hills of Verdugo” at dozens of readings in Los Angeles, New York and Austin since she was elected in 2020. Her official induction occurred in 2022, deferred due to the pandemic, but that didn’t slow her passion for hosting events online and exploring the grace and charm of the foothills.

“I absorbed the spirit of the desert wash, the plants, animals and birds. They have all become part of my poetry,” said Pero. “A poet feels the pulse of the city, the people and all of nature.”

During her four-year tenure, she continued her work with children through the Poetry in Schools program, became the monthly contest chair for the California State Poetry Society and assumed the role of artistic director of the Village Poets booking.

Newly elected laureate Travers is a fourth generation Angeleno and has lived in her 100-year-old historic home in Sunland for more than 20 years. With graduate degrees in art history, Victorian studies and professional writing, she received fellowships to the Prague Writer’s Festival as well as post-graduate study at Cambridge University. As a former high school and university educator, she is a historic restoration expert specializing in architectural ceramic. She is a founding member of ST Forward, an arts, equity and inclusion based non-profit. She volunteers for several homeless charities and is a current board member of the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council. Travers was elected poet laureate of the foothills by a nine-member panel composed of artists, writers, musicians and arts administrators.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the laureate program, which was initiated to unify and promote creative writers and the access to workshops to nurture their development. It also honors the legacy of John Steven McGroarty. He was the third California poet laureate from 1933 to 1944. McGroarty was elected by resolution of the combined legislature of the state of California. Marlene Hitt was elected the first poet laureate of Sunland-Tujunga in 1999. She was a regional laureate as opposed to a state laureate.

“It was a thrilling endeavor,” said Hitt. “We came together to raise the impression of poetry and the perception of our area as an artist’s enclave.”

Hitt’s book, “Sunland and Tujunga: From Village To City” is available online.

Passing of the Laurels will be held on May 19 from 3 p.m. to
5 p.m. at McGroarty Arts Center, 7570 McGroarty Terrace in Tujunga.

Attendance to the event is free to the public.