Dear Friends,
Thank you for making the very first Voices at the Table open mic such an extraordinary and memorable beginning. Please forward to your family and friends who attended as well.
This Sunday, we were deeply honored to welcome five Solano County Poet Laureates: Jacalyn Eyvonne, Kathleen Herrmann, Dr. Genea Brice (Poet Laureate Emeritus), Excalibur “David” Camper of Sunol, and the newly incoming Vallejo Poet Laureate, Erik Soto. Each reading was powerful, generous, and deeply engaging, setting a tone of excellence, openness, and respect.
In total, 18 poets shared their work, with 31 guests gathered at the table. The room was filled with attentive listening, strong voices, and a genuine sense of community. With great food, cake, and champagne, the afternoon felt both celebratory and intimate—exactly the spirit this gathering was created to hold.
I’m already looking ahead to our next event:
Black History Open Mic
Sunday, February 22 | 2–4 PM
Read a poem, share the table with us, or just come to support us.
We are honored to welcome Dr. Genea Brice (https://geneabrice.com/), the first Poet Laureate of Vallejo, as our guest speaker, and Melissa Southwell Archie of Brooklyn Sound Lab (Berkeley, CA, and New York City) as our guest singer. Both women bring powerful voices and deep presence, and we are grateful they will be at the table with us.
Visit their website here: https://brooklynsoundlab.com/
(More details coming soon — please mark your calendars.)
Thank you again to everyone who helped make this first gathering such a success. This is only the beginning, and I’m deeply grateful to be building this community with you.
Photos from the event are posted on my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/valdez.hill.3
Videos of the poetry readings will be uploaded to my Google Drive or YouTube and shared by email or text for those whose email I don’t yet have.
With deep appreciation,
Valdez Hill
Host & Founder, Voices at the Table
Poet & Pianist
Vacaville, California
────────── ♫ ──────────
Author, First Haiku: Winter Collection (Published, January 2026)
Author, Circle of Life (forthcoming, Spring 2026)
Upcoming anthology projects:
When Words Are Feared More Than War: Racism, Fascism, and Injustice in America ( Coming in the next few weeks)
Black Voices Inspired by Black Voices
Palestine and War: A Lost People
Conversations & Duets
Vampire Love Stories
