At the Norman Levan Center for the Humanities several poets read poems inspired by the Bakersfield area, each poet read different works based on different aspects of Bakersfield life.

The reading occurred on Oct. 12, and its title was Poetry and Place. It was the first event in Kern Literary Week, a weeklong event that ran from Oct. 12 – 16. Chris Livingston, an organizer of the events, said they were meant to “highlight the world of literature in Bakersfield and Kern County.”

Three poets read poetry that night. The first was Don Thompson, who has been publishing his poems since the 1960s.

Some of his poems focus on the power of nature, with several mentioning the wind. He once taught as an adjunct instructor at Bakersfield College.

“On the Bench,” a poem by Thompson was inspired directly by BC. “As I was walking to class one night, I just happened to glance on the tables there, on the benches, with names all carved in, and that’s what ignited this poem,” said Thompson.

According to Thompson, when picking poems for this reading, he “was looking for something that was placed named.”

“I was trying to come up with things that specify about a place. [Something] that you can locate very firmly in a landscape, but a lot of the stuff I’m doing is that way anyway.”

The second person to read was Nancy Edwards. Edwards is recently retired after having taught English at BC for many years. She expressed how living here as affected her. “Bakersfield has been my home for over 40 years, and I loved the people here in my career as a teacher, and the peaceful and nurturing lifestyle.”

After talking to Ann Williams, a fellow poet and friend, about being an educator, she was inspired to write a poem about being a teacher.

Williams said that it was “wonderful” to inspire the poem. The poem is called “Teaching in the Valley,”which she read at the reading.

A section of the poem reads, “Yes, I have taken out my fancy degrees and given everything in one lesson, in one hour, all the time allowed for me, hoping to carry the sky.”

The third poet to read was Jack Hernandez who organized the reading. He read “Zingo’s Cafe” and “First Street Cafe,” which he had written while observing cafes and coffee shops around Bakersfield.

Hernandez said, “I’ve been writing in coffee shops for 30 years. I enjoy having people around. I enjoy [being] connected to life.”