Mission Statement

In the structure of language, our most intimate feelings can find expression and release. Whether we are reading, listening to, writing, or performing it, a poem can be a refuge, a source of empowerment, an incandescent glow to follow when we need it most. In this way, poetry is a moment in time where experiences are traded, an act of reaching outwards, thus making it an essential tool for empathy building and social exchange—qualities our communities need now more than ever.

Despite poetry’s critical function on personal and societal levels, there are increasingly fewer spaces where people are encouraged, regardless of experience level, to explore the life-sustaining force of poetry for themselves, voicing the issues affecting our everyday realities and shaping our future.

In an effort to restore the practice of poetry in our immediate locale and to give representation to voices, emerging to established, and topics that go unheard in our community, we created The Sun Place Poets.

In a world divided, poetry reminds us of what is shared and reinforces our commitment to ourselves and one another. Poetry exists in the now, where the past and future converge in the present. Our anthology, open to poets of the elementary school age and beyond, brings together the diverse perspectives of the valley through poetry, recognizing that social justice impacts people of all ages, ethnicities, economic classes, and genders.