Poet Kenya Burton got her hometown of Salinas talking about renewing the position of poet laureate again, after her former boss, 2018 city council candidate Andrew Sandoval, requested she be be appointed to the position.
Sandoval's request sparked a citywide search for the position. At the time, Burton said win or lose, she was glad the conversation had started and the sense that the power of poetry was now a citywide topic. She once said in an interview with the Weekly, “I’ve seen the impact of what introducing a narrative does for people. Politicians and leaders have their way of saying things, but poetry allows us to say the right things for the time."
It's a humble statement, and a humble approach, but Burton won the search anyway. The city's weeks-long selection process led to Burton after all. On Tuesday, April 13, Salinas City Council announced she will be the city's poet laureate.
"I am so glad I can share this gift and represent such a beautiful city. Salinas is my home and always will be. When one struggles we all do, and in a time such as this one, we must evaluate what matters," she says via text message to the Weekly. "Helping our youth, our homeless, and our farmworkers. I hope my art and poem, "Salas," brought light to the incredible people who live here but are often forgotten."
Burton will be tasked with performing poetry at important city events. The runner-up was North Salinas High School's Michael Ndubis.