Kathleen Herrmann | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | St. Mary's College of California [1] |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Title | Poet laureate of Vallejo, California |
| Term | 2024-2025 |
| Predecessor | Jeremy Snyder |
| Writing career | |
| Genre | poetry |
Kathleen Herrmann is an American poet. She serves concurrently with Jacalyn Eyvonne as poet laureate of Vallejo, California. [2] [1]
Kathleen Herrmann's poetry has been published in anthologies in Africa, Australia, and North America, and in the Benicia Herald newspaper. [1] She has received awards in poetry from the Solano County Fair and Ina Coolbrith Poetry Circle. [1] Herrmann performed for the Flyway Festival, [3] Vallejo Poetry Festival, [4] Napa Valley Writers Club, [5] Alameda Island Poets, [2] the American Association of University Women, [6] Benicia First Tuesday Poets, [2] Poetry by the Bay, and KZCT. [7] Herrmann serves concurrently with Jacalyn Eyvonne as poet laureate of Vallejo, California. [2] Since being appointed Vallejo's poet laureate, Herrmann has performed at the Mad Hatter Holiday Festival, [7] a Martin Luther King Day event, [8] a Black History Month event, [9] Fiestas Primavera in Benicia, [10] Art Walk, [11] Alibi Bookshop, [12] [13] [14] the Earth Daze Festival, [15] a climate change themed art exhibit at Vallejo Art Lofts Gallery, [16] on the Vallejo waterfront, [17] and the Solano County Fair. [18] Eyvonne and Herrmann hosted an event at the Empress Theater encouraging voting. [19]
Like their predecessors, Herrmann and Eyvonne hosted the Poetry in Notion poetry circle at the John F. Kennedy Library in Vallejo. [7] Founded in 2015 by Genea Brice Poetry in Notion's in-person meetings were cancelled in 2020 due to restrictions on public gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic. [8] [7] The two also launched a new poetry open mic series called Tea House Poetry. [17] The co-poets laureate published a youth anthology in cooperation with the Vallejo Unified School District entitled Youth Poetry Letters - Pencils and Dreams: Young Vallejo Poets Share Their World in 2024. [20] [21] [8] They held events for youth including a chalk art festival [22] and literacy awareness night. [23] Eyvonne and Herrmann coached students for the 2025 Poetry Out Loud performance competition. [24] Herrmann performed with jazz accompaniment at the Mira Theater. [25] They organized an ekphrastic poetry reading at Mare Island Art Studios. [26]
In 2025 the poets laureate of Vallejo celebrated the 10th anniversary of the poet laureate program. All five Vallejo poets laureate received recognition from the California State Legislature, Solano County Supervisors, Vallejo Mayor and City Council for their service upon the program's anniversary. A sampling of their work was also included in the anthology A Decade of Poetic Unity edited by D. L. Lang. [27] [28] [29] [30]
Herrmann is a retired teacher [7] with an M.A. in Teaching Leadership from St. Mary's College of California [1] and a B.A. in English Literature from University of California Berkeley. [3] Herrmann is also a singer, pianist, guitarist, and ukulele player. [31]
