Ina Coolbrith inducted into the CA Library Association Hall of Fame

Ina Coolbrith was California’s first poet laureate and Oakland’s first public librarian. She was inducted into the California Library Hall of Fame on Friday, November 7, 2014, during the CA Library Association’s gala at the Marriot Oakland City Center. I was proud to accept the award on Ina's behalf.

Learn more about the Hall of Fame and the 2014 inductees.

The following day, Saturday, November 8, 2014, I gave a talk about Coolbrith at the Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room, at 2 p.m. I told attendees how John Muir, Jack London, Joaquin Miller, and Isadora Duncan spent time in the library, and explained why Coolbrith called the place her  “Inferno.”

Ina Coolbrith: The Bittersweet Song of California’s First Poet Laureate will be available in March 2015.