CITY OF CATHEDRAL CITY POET LAUREATE | 2026-2028
Cathedral City Poet Laureate Job Description | Page 1
POET LAUREATE
City of Cathedral City | Position Description and Term Priorities (DRAFT) TERM
September 1, 2026-August 31, 2028
APPOINTMENT
Two-year civic appointment
REPORTS/LIAISES WITH
Reports to: Anne Ambrose, Assistant City Manager
Liaises With Don Stouder and Diane Anderson-Minshall
for the City
PRIMARY PARTNERS
Library, schools, community and cultural organizations
POSITION FOCUS
Ceremonial, educational and community engagement
LEGACY FOCUS
Youth Poet Laureate; “Voices of the City”
Mission statement
The Cathedral City Poet Laureate brings poetry into civic and everyday life; honors the city's many voices, histories and neighborhoods; encourages creative expression across generations; and uses poetry and storytelling to strengthen belonging, understanding and connection.
Position purpose
The Poet Laureate serves as Cathedral City's literary and cultural ambassador. The position promotes poetry, spoken word, storytelling and literacy; represents the City at selected civic and community occasions; expands access to literary arts; and develops projects that reflect the people and places of Cathedral City.
Core responsibilities
• Civic participation. Represent the City at selected ceremonies, commemorations, public meetings, arts events and other civic occasions, including presenting original or selected poetry when appropriate. • Public programming. Offer readings, workshops, conversations and participatory programs in schools, the library, senior and community centers, youth organizations, neighborhoods and cultural venues. • Inclusive access. Reach residents of different ages, backgrounds, languages and levels of familiarity with poetry, with particular attention to young people and communities not usually included in literary programming.
• Partnerships. Build partnerships with City departments, Palm Springs Unified School District, the Boys & Girls Club, community organizations, artists, educators and regional literary groups. • Creative work. Create or commission poems connected to Cathedral City's people, landscape, history and civic life, while retaining an artist's independent voice. • Youth leadership. Help establish, select and mentor a Cathedral City Youth Poet Laureate, with the first two-year youth term beginning in September 2027.
• Signature project. Plan and carry out the “Voices of the City” community story and poetry project described in Appendix A.
CITY OF CATHEDRAL CITY POET LAUREATE | 2026-2028
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Core responsibilities (continued)
• Public communication. Support appropriate publicity through City communications, regional media and community partners, and maintain a simple record of appearances and participation. • Reporting and continuity. Provide periodic progress updates and an end-of-term summary documenting activities, participation, lessons learned and recommendations for the next Poet Laureate.
Working relationships and City support
The Poet Laureate will coordinate scheduling, public communications and project planning with the City's designated contacts. Programs involving schools, minors, recordings, public space, grants or publication will be developed with the relevant City department or partner organization. • Recommended support: City liaisons for invitations, scheduling and approvals. • Reasonable access to City venues, communications channels and introductions to community partners. • A mutually agreed annual work plan and project budget; any honorarium, reimbursement or publication funding is governed by separate City authorization.
• Grant-development assistance for the “Voices of the City” anthology, subject to available programs and City procedures.
Professional and safeguarding standards
• Represent Cathedral City with professionalism, respect, cultural sensitivity and nonpartisanship while appearing in an official capacity.
• Complete required background checks, mandated-reporter training and volunteer clearances before working with young people or in partner facilities.
• Follow partner safeguarding rules; avoid unsupervised contact with minors unless expressly cleared and authorized.
• Obtain informed consent for interviews and recordings, parental or guardian permission for minors, and written permission for publication or public use.
• Respect a participant's right to decline, withdraw or remain anonymous, and protect sensitive personal information.
Planning, reporting and measures of success
Annual work plan. At the beginning of each program year, agree on a practical calendar of civic appearances, community activities and project milestones.
Progress record. Maintain a concise log of dates, locations, partner organizations, approximate attendance and work produced or collected.
Success indicators. Breadth of neighborhoods and age groups reached; quality of participation and partnerships; progress on the Youth Poet Laureate program; completion of Voices of the City; and a useful handover to the succeeding Poet Laureate.
Appointment of subsequent Poet Laureate. Create an application process for the next Poet Laureate with the City liaisons. Participate on a panel to choose the next appointment.
End-of-term handover. By August 31, 2028, provide the City with a summary, project archive, permissions records, outstanding grant or publication information and recommendations for the next term.
Rights and public use of work
The Poet Laureate and participating contributors retain copyright in their original work unless separately agreed.
The City may be granted a non-exclusive license to publish or present work created for official civic purposes, subject to written permissions and appropriate attribution. Anthology publication terms should be established in contributor agreements.
CITY OF CATHEDRAL CITY POET LAUREATE | 2026-2028
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CITY OF CATHEDRAL CITY POET LAUREATE | 2026-2028
Cathedral City Poet Laureate Job Description | Page 3
APPENDIX A
Signature Projects and Term Goals
These projects provide the principal long-term structure for the 2026-2028 term. Their final scope, budget, safeguarding procedures and public presentation will be agreed with the City and partner organizations.
1. Cathedral City Youth Poet Laureate
Goal. Establish a two-year Youth Poet Laureate position beginning in September 2027, or at the opening of the 2027-28 school year, and mentor the inaugural appointee during the final year of the current Poet Laureate's term.
Continuity model. The youth term would run approximately September 2027-August 2029. This creates an intentional overlap with the current Poet Laureate in 2027-28 and with the next appointed adult Poet Laureate in 2028-29, providing mentorship and continuity across administrations.
Development steps. Work with the City, PSUSD, the library and youth-serving organizations to define eligibility, nomination and selection procedures; recruit a representative review panel; publicize the opportunity; select and appoint the youth laureate; and agree on a manageable calendar of readings, workshops and one youth-led project.
Intended outcome. A durable, recurring civic role that gives a young Cathedral City poet a public voice, leadership experience, artistic mentorship and a bridge into the City's cultural life.
2. Voices of the City
Goal. Create a community-authored portrait of Cathedral City through poems, short personal stories and recorded voices, culminating in an anthology and public presentation as a legacy of the 2026-2028 term.
Community approach. Hold listening and writing activities in a range of neighborhoods and gathering places. An early focus will be the Dream Homes neighborhood around Esperanza Park, in connection with the mural being created along the wall overlooking the park. Additional outreach may include schools, the Boys & Girls Club, the library, senior residents, arts and business communities, faith and service organizations, and other neighborhoods identified with City partners.
Ways to participate. Residents may write a poem, tell a story for transcription, contribute a brief written memory, or make an audio recording. Participation should be welcoming to people who do not identify as writers and, where practical, should include bilingual or translated contributions.
Editorial and ethical framework. Use clear consent and release forms; obtain parent or guardian permission for minors; allow anonymity where appropriate; confirm each contributor's approval before publication; and preserve original language alongside translation when feasible.
Publication plan. After approximately 18 months of gathering material, edit a representative anthology and prepare an artsgrant application to the City or another appropriate funder for design, printing and public distribution. Explore a launch reading or exhibition that connects the anthology with participating communities.
Legacy. Deposit copies and an agreed project archive with the City and library, recognize all participating communities and partners, and provide a replicable model that a future Poet Laureate can continue or expand.
Indicative term sequence
Sep-Dec 2026 Establish partnerships, clear safeguarding requirements and begin pilot readings/listening sessions.
Jan-Jun 2027 Expand Voices of the City outreach; develop Youth Poet Laureate framework and selection plan.
Jul-Sep 2027 Select and appoint the inaugural Youth Poet Laureate; begin formal mentorship.
Oct 2027-Feb 2028 Complete approximately 18 months of community gathering; organize and edit anthology material.
Mar-Aug 2028 Seek publication funding, prepare public presentation, complete project archive and handover.