After years of being recognized informally as the city’s poet, this week Joyce Dale was finally named Merced’s first poet laureate.
Merced Mayor Matthew Serratto appointed Dale, 73, to the two-year position during the May 5 city council meeting, which coincided with Dale’s birthday.
Since returning 20 years ago to Merced, Dale has recited her words at volunteer events, inauguration ceremonies, holiday gatherings and cultural celebrations.
“The mayor has said I’m the poet laureate, so I sometimes say I’m the poet laureate,” Dale said, reflecting on the fact that she’s previously been unofficially introduced as Merced’s poet laureate by Serratto, Senator Anna Caballero and Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria.
“I didn’t really know anything about a poet laureate until the past few years.
A poet laureate is generally a title conferrred by a government agency to an individual for their commitment to poetry and presence in their community.
For example California has its own poet laureate. Some cities in the Central Valley, like Modesto, Sacramento and Fresno, each have their own official poet laureate. Now, Merced joins that list.
“There’s so much tradition around a poet laureate,” said Kim McMillon, a Merced-based author and playwright who has also been an organizer with San Francisco’s Litquake literary festival.
“It helps a community because a poet laureate can visit schools,” McMillon said. “They can talk to kids about the importance of poetry. They can write poetry with the kids. They can speak about poets and their influences.”
Being Merced’s official poet is a testament to Dale’s literary accomplishments.
Dale has published five poetry anthologies in the past two decades. Among those works, “In Jesus’ Name, Amen” and “Upon These Shoulders” were published in 2008; “Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, Friends” was published in 2012; “Memories of Betrayals” was published in 2018; and “Walk This Way” was published in 2019.
Readers can find Dale’s poetry on her website at Poetically Yours.
Her poetry explores intimate experiences surrounding mother-daughter relationships, family reunions and her Christian-based faith.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she wrote about spending Easter 2020 virtually with her family, and not allowing the coronavirus to “steal all [their] blessings.”
Events scheduled to honor Dale
Dale hopes to finish one additional collection of poetry in time for her inauguration celebration, which is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday, May 31 at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center.
Lit Crawl Merced is another event that will honor Dale’s achievement as Merced’s first poet laureate.
Sponsored by the Merced County Arts Council and the Litquake Foundation Project, the literary festival will unfold 5 p.m. tp 8 p.m. Friday, May 9, in Dale’s honor.
California’s Poet Laureate Lee Herrick and other prominent writers from the San Joaquin Valley will share their poetry. Several venues are hosting events (a link with a schedule is included below).
Dale was born in Merced in 1952 and raised throughout the country during her childhood and early adult years. She’s lived in the cities of New Orleans, Las Vegas and Atlanta, which is where her only child, Makeba Evans currently lives.
Evans spoke to The Merced FOCUS after her mother’s appointment, and said she remembers growing up with her mother’s poetry.
“I’ve had her poetry in my life since as long as I could remember hearing her voice,” Evans said. Evan added it “means the world to [her]” that Merced is recognizing her for her work.
Dale draws inspiration from famous poets such as Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes and Helen Steiner Rice, but she credits emerging voices as her biggest source of inspiration.
For instance, she has mentored incarcerated women at Central California Women’s Facility and men at Valley State Prison who were writing poetry for the first time.
Dale said she understands the feeling of being stifled in her expression. Living under a strict upbringing, Dale felt she had to compromise her voice in order to stay out of trouble. Writing poetry gave her a sense of peace, she said.
“She has poem-ed her way out of obstacles,” her sister Yvonne Colbert said, explaining the healing power Dale has found through writing and sharing it with others.
Visit this link for more details about Lit Crawl on May 9 and Dale’s inauguration on May 31.
