Dr. Genea Brice | |
|---|---|
 Vallejo Poet Laureate Genea Brice | |
| Born | Oakland, California [1] |
| Occupation | Poet laureate of Vallejo, California (2015-2017) |
| Alma mater | Sacramento Theological Seminary and Bible College |
| Genre | poetry |
| Website | |
| geneabrice | |
Dr. Genea Brice is an American poet. She was the first Poet Laureate of Vallejo, California. [2]
Dr. Genea Sheles Brice was born in Oakland, California [1] and raised in Vallejo, California. [3] She is a graduate of Hogan Senior High School in Vallejo. [4] She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies with a concentration in English Literature and a Teaching Credential from Patten University. [5] [3] She went on to the Sacramento Theological Seminary and Bible College to earn her Master of Arts and doctorate in Theological Studies. [5] [3] In addition to becoming Vallejo's first poet laureate, she served on the Commission on Culture and the Arts. [4] Following her service as poet laureate she briefly relocated to Dallas, Texas in 2018. [4] She currently resides in Vacaville, California [6] and works as a teacher. [7]
A poetry aficionado since her youth, [8] Dr. Brice advocated [9] [10] for the founding of the poet laureate program in Vallejo. [11] She served as poet laureate of Vallejo, California from August 2015 to September 2017. [12] During her tenure, she performed at several local events and celebrations, including Art Walk, [13] Visions of the Wild, [13] Women's History Month, [14] Juneteenth, [15] Martin Luther King Jr. Day, [16] and a vigil after the Charlottesville car attack. [17] She taught students about Martin Luther King Jr., [18] gave presentations on Maya Angelou and Sonia Sanchez for Voices of Change [19] and spoke about Ernest J. Gaines at the Solano County Library. [20] Dr. Brice lead a monthly poetry circle, Poetry in Notion, [21] and hosted annual shows for National Poetry Month. [21] [22] She also spoke at events for numerous organizations including Alpha Kappa Alpha, NAACP, Community Democratic Club, Delta Sigma Theta, The Links, Rotary Club, Harvest House, United States Forest Service, Soroptimist International, and Vallejo Sister Cities. [12] She was succeeded as poet laureate by D.L. Lang in 2017. [2]
In 2020 Dr. Brice performed at a rally against police violence in Vallejo. [23] In 2021 she performed at a virtual benefit for the Solano County Library Foundation. [24] [25] [26] She also read at the Juneteenth flag raising at Martin Luther King, Jr. park in Vallejo, [27] [6] [28] and at another commemoration of Juneteenth in Suisun City. [29] [30] She also performed with her successors at Alibi Bookshop. [31] [32] In 2022 she read in Fairfield at a Juneteenth event for the Solano County Library. [33] [34] In 2023 she helped high school seniors with a Black History Month poetry project, [35] and performed at the Cordelia Library for National Poetry Month, [36] and at Alibi Bookshop for the Vallejo Poetry Festival. [37] In 2024 she performed at a Black History Month event in Vallejo, [38] an event promoting literacy in Fairfield, [39] and at the Fairfield Library with fellow poets laureate. [40]
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) of Arezzo were the first to be crowned poets laureate after the classical age, respectively in 1315 and 1342. In Britain, the term dates from the appointment of Bernard André by Henry VII of England. The royal office of Poet Laureate in England dates from the appointment of John Dryden in 1668.
Vacaville is a city located in Solano County, California. Sitting about 35 miles (56 km) from Sacramento and 55 miles (89 km) from San Francisco, it is on the edge of the Sacramento Valley in Northern California. The city was founded in 1851 and is named after Juan Manuel Vaca.
Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Solano County, California, United States, in the North Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Solano County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 453,491. The county seat is Fairfield.
Interstate 780 (I-780) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It runs from Curtola Parkway and Lemon Street in Vallejo to I-680 just north of the Benicia–Martinez Bridge in Benicia. It closely parallels the Carquinez Strait for its entire route. Originally, this segment was part of I-680 before that Interstate was extended and rerouted to Fairfield. The city-maintained Curtola Parkway continues west from I-80 to State Route 29 (SR 29) in Vallejo.
Solano Community College (SCC) is a public community college in Fairfield, California, with additional centers in Vacaville and Vallejo. The college is part of California Community Colleges System. SCC's service area includes all of Solano County, and the town of Winters in Yolo County. It has 10,814 students.
SolanoExpress is a public transit network of regional express buses connecting Solano County, California to Contra Costa County and the Sacramento Valley. It is managed by the Solano Transportation Authority and operated by SolTrans. The Solano Transportation Authority is a joint powers authority established in 1990 by Solano County and the cities of Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield, Rio Vista, Suisun City, Vacaville, and Vallejo to serve as the Congestion Management Agency for Solano County, as mandated by California law.
This article lists the railroads and a timeline of railroad history in Solano County, California.
SolTrans, officially Solano County Transit, is a Joint Powers Authority that provides public transportation service to the southern Solano County cities of Vallejo and Benicia. SolTrans was established in 2011 and is the result of a merger between Vallejo Transit and Benicia Breeze. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 954,200, or about 3,700 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.
Benicia Unified School District is a public school district based in Benicia, a city in Solano County, California. It operates two high schools, a middle school and four elementary schools. The district had approximately 4,900 students enrolled in the 2018–2019 school year.
Diana Lucille Lang, known professionally as D. L. Lang, is an American poet. Her poetry is anthologized in over 60 anthologies. She has published 16 full-length books of poetry, and served as the Poet Laureate of Vallejo, California.
The Solano County Superior Court is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Solano County.
Joel Fallon was the first Poet laureate of Benicia, California. He is the namesake of the Joel Fallon poetry scholarship awarded annually since 2015 to high school students in Benicia, California. He was a founding member of the Benicia First Tuesday Poets, which meets at the Benicia Library monthly since 2003, and also helped begin the Benicia Love Poetry Contest and the annual Poets’ Picnic. He was named Benicia's first poet laureate in 2005. He helped Genea Brice advocate for a poet laureate program in neighboring Vallejo, California. He also served as a vice president of Arts Benicia. Fallon began writing poetry while serving overseas in the United States Army. He was influenced by Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Charles Bukowski. His successors include Robert Shelby, Ronna Leon, Lois Requist, Don Peery, Johanna Ely, and Tom Stanton.
Robert M. Shelby was an American poet. He served as the poet laureate of Benicia, California from 2008 to 2010.
Jeremy Snyder is an American poet. He served as poet laureate of Vallejo, California from 2020 through 2023.
Mary Susan Gast is the eighth Poet laureate of Benicia, California. She is a graduate of Michigan State University and Chicago Theological Seminary. She edits a poetry column for the Benicia Herald entitled "Going the Distance."
Kathleen Herrmann is an American poet. She serves concurrently with Jacalyn Eyvonne as poet laureate of Vallejo, California.
Jacalyn Evone Robinson known professionally as Jacalyn Eyvonne is an African-American poet and filmmaker. She serves concurrently with Kathleen Herrmann as poet laureate of Vallejo, California.
