Establishing a Youth Poet Laureate in Your County : Fernando Albert Salinas - CalPoets' Area Coordinator for Ventura County. This workshop will offer a step-by-step guide to begin a Youth Poet Laureate program in your county and how to align with the Youth Poet Laureate nationwide movement.

The details in this one by Fernando Albert Salinas grip me, and the truth of it humbles me. I’m not sure that any introduction will do this piece justice.

The classes will focus on various visual arts, music, and poetry. Each class has been developed by acclaimed local artists like MB Hanrahan, Yenelli Law, Juan Mendoza and Fernando Albert Salinas. They will include both traditional and contemporary art methods, including art project ideas for ofrendas.

F Albert Salinas’ poetry and fiction has appeared on The CyberMuse, Rogue Scholar, Confused Muse, and in the Student Voices Anthology for Santa Barbara He has read his poetry and fiction in nine states including the Hidden Treasure Reading Series in the Bronx in New York City, The Gathering of the Minds in San Francisco and The Poetry Read at Moorpark College in California Sighs of the Seraphim,

Fernando Albert Salinas, California Poets in the Schools' Ventura County Area Coordinator, is a founding member of the committee that established the Ventura County Poet Laureate program. This opportunity is designed to honor young writers and leaders committed to making a civic impact through community engagement utilizing the power of their written and spoken words. "I noticed that youth were not present at poetry readings and I prompted the county to start this program," Fernando said. “We need to allow youth to be heard. When we honor them and give them this kind of office, the community is more likely to listen. Quite often as we get older … we get caught up with our lives so much we forget what’s happening in youths’ lives, and when they do speak up it’s like, how did I miss that?”

The McGroarty Arts Center event was sponsored by the Engaging the Senses Foundation, which seeks to illuminate the intersection of art and mindfulness; the California Arts Council, which advances California through the arts and the intersection of creativity; and the Los Angeles Dept. of Cultural Affairs, which champions the arts, culture and creativity of LA. 

Students were anything but bored thanks to guest reader Fernando Salinas. Salinas is a poet who uses imagery and acting to express his poetry. Unlike other poets, Salinas takes advantage of his entertainment diploma to emphasize meaning and emotion in his writing.

“I write to evoke emotion through intense imagery,” said Salinas.

A poetry reading event to raise money for the Ventura County Arts Council was held August 17, 2018 in the Fillmore office of Diamond Realty. Approximately 15 poets read original poetry, several about the theme of the event “Scuffed Diamonds.”

The event was sponsored by Diamond Realty and hosted by Fernando Albert Salinas, Ventura County Arts Council Board Member and professor at Brooks College. Fillmore Middle School art teacher Doris Nichols painted while poetry was in motion.

Competitors take picture with poet and coach Fernando Albert Salinas after the competition was complete. Senior Jacob Tennent was announced as winner and Senior Camille Polk as runner-up in the competition (Meghana Mudunuri/Talon).

Delight, puro delight, that’s how gente responded when they accepted the invitation to spend a dollar for their own poem. One woman, a German tourist, burst into tears when she received her poem. A pair of girls noticed the sign announcing the event as a fundraiser for Para Los Niños and yelled excitedly, "that's our school!"