The Poet Laureate is responsible for developing literature and poetry programs in the community and for writing poems for civic events and dedications. He or she also serves as a resource and liaison between the City’s Cultural Arts program, local schools, and literary organizations.

About the Poet Laureate ~ Peggy Schimmelman 

Peggy Schimmelman was appointed as the City of Livermore’s fifth Poet Laureate. She follows Cynthia Patton, who served from 2017 to 2022. Ms. Schimmelman's term began July 1, 2022

Peggy Schimmelman is the author of poetry chapbooks Tick-tock and Crazytown along with two novels, Insomniacs, Inc. and Whippoorwills. She is co-author of two Wild Vine Writers anthologies. Her poetry and short fiction have appeared in North American Review, Flash Fiction Magazine, Haight-Ashbury Journal, WinningWriters.com, Aleola Journal of Poetry and Art, Pacific Review, Comstock Review, Wild Musette Journal, 100wordstories.org and other print and online journals. She is a thirty-year resident of Livermore, where she worked many years as an educator. 

As poet laureate, she wants to bring her experience as a former teacher of Spanish and adult ESL into school district classrooms, working with teachers to inspire both new and translated poems from their students. As a musician and music lover, she also hopes to blend poetry into Livermore’s thriving music scene and to coordinate events with local wineries and businesses. 

 

This is Livermore
By Peggy Schimmelman 

West of the windmills, east of the Bay
a little city/big town
a whisper away from the mountains or sea
in a valley surrounded by velvety hills
with sun-soaked vineyards,
acres of pasture where horses graze
and a lab where the wizards of science
unravel unfathomable mysteries.

It’s a gentrified, dignified, modern old town
where townspeople gather
scientists, vintners, shopkeepers, ranchers
all residents welcome
to watch, march, or ride in the rodeo parade
as it files past boutiques and a western store 
diners, taquerias, 24-hour donuts
and an eye-catching erotica store window.
  
Here artists thrive, and Oh! the music—
rock, mariachi, jazz, blues, country—
from Blacksmith Square or beneath the flagpole
it swims in the air
floats from restaurants, coffee shops, and bars,
mingles with tunes from sidewalk troubadours
and the shouts of children splashing in fountains,
their laughter its own kind of song.

Centuries of history, reshaping, replacing:
Ohlones reduced by disease and mistreatment,
a Franciscan mission, rugged rancheros,
friars and bandits called it home,
and sometimes still we’re a city divided 
over housing developments, parks and hotels.
Inevitable changes can rattle the soul
but I find peace in the constant delights:

a wild turkey struts across my lawn,
sun-drunk poppies by the creek running wild—
and have you ever seen such a marvelous sight
as your lover’s smile from the wine tipsy-turvy,
aglow in the shadows, lit by the magic
of a moonstruck vineyard
on a warm August night?