To read contributor biographies please visit this link: poetryebook.com/vallejo-anthology-contributor-bios/ To preview this book please visit Google Books. List Price: $20.00 8.5″ x 11″ (21.59 x 27.94 cm) Black & White on White paper 196 pages ISBN-13: 978-1724462633 ISBN-10: 1724462636 BISAC: Poetry / Anthologies A collective anthology authored by: DIANA ALDEN OLIVIA ANDERSON KYRAH AYERS DANIEL BADIALI GENEA BRICE JESSICA BROWN LEI KIM SAWYER CHAVEZ JULIA DVORIN JOHANNA ELY RANJIT SINGH GILL AMY GIOLETTI G.O. 284 GREY MORGAN HANNIGAN TRAVIS JACKSON, JR. KATHLEEN JEFFREY KINGMAN CHUCK LAMPLIGHTER D.L. LANG LADY-D LEE LEE LUCINDA LEES AQUEILA M. LEWIS MYRA NISSEN KELLIANE PARKER POETIC OLD SOUL CAROL PEARLMAN BOBBY RICHARDSON FRED ROSS-PERRY NINA SERRANO RAVI SHANKAR ERIKA SNYDER JEREMY SNYDER REGINA SPARROW TOM STANTON DIANA TENES KEITH THOMPSON AMBER VON NAGEL BECKY BISHOP WHITE JEFF WILLIAMS JAMES WESTLEY LISA WILSON LOIS WU Edited by D.L. LANG Vallejo Poet Laureate 2017-2019 Vallejo Waterfront Cover Photo by JESSICA BROWN Available at Bookshop Benicia in Benicia, California, and Alibi Bookshop in Vallejo, California. A copy is also archived at the Benicia Public Library, and in circulation in the Solano County Library system. Proceeds of offline sales benefit the Vallejo Peace Project. Please contact Lisa Wilson vallejopeaceproject@gmail.com or D.L. Lang to get bulk copies for your organization. For out of state orders, please use amazon.com www.amazon.com/gp/product/1724462636/ I met several talented poets and lyricists when performing at poetry by the bay, poetry in notion, and across my life. I wanted to bring them all together in one book, as many of them as were willing to submit their work. I collected poems for 8 months, spent 4 months compiling and editing. I didn’t change very much of what was originally submitted, so as to retain the voice and style of the original authors. My focus was on what they had to say, not how they said it. I also accepted every person who submitted a poem and bio. I think poets receive enough rejection based on subjective reasons, so I wanted to be fully inclusive. I had originally intended on just a book about Vallejo, but I tossed aside my own rules to allow for more freedom of expression. I was delighted with everything that I received. As the poems came in I found the book to be relatable on a personal level, talking about love and loss, as well as talking about global issues such as racism, peace, revolution, poverty, and trauma. With its wide breadth of important subject matter it became a book I enjoyed reading as I edited. I also wanted to show that in the most diverse city in America we can unite in the name of poetry and peace. I didn’t want to give the money to an arts organization or keep it for myself, so I chose Vallejo Peace Project. Vallejo has a lot of violence, and they encourage people to be the change, spread positivity, and commit random acts of kindness to make the world a better place. Since I am not paid as a poet laureate, I funded the project with my savings, and we had a beautiful book launch in the spring at the library where we sold out of copies, and raised money for the peace project. I hadn’t originally intended releasing the book on a wide scale, but there was some additional demand afterwards. You can get the book at Bookshop Benicia, Alibi Bookshop, and online. Lisa Wilson has copies that benefit the peace project.