Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Clark County’s 4th poet laureate ready to share her love of poetry and the arts

Clark County Poet Laureate Angela Brommel

Wade Vandervort

Clark County Poet Laureate Angela Brommel reads poetry at the Winchester Dondero Cultural Center Thursday, June 30, 2022.

Standing at a podium in the Winchester Dondero Cultural Center’s theater, local poet Angela Brommel explains her vision for poetry in Clark County with as much grace as an artist painting on a canvas.

Clark County Poet Laureate Angela Brommel

Clark County Poet Laureate Angela Brommel reads poetry at the Winchester Dondero Cultural Center Thursday, June 30, 2022. Launch slideshow »

Her thoughts are met with cheers throughout the room, many of which come from her fellow poets in the Las Vegas area. Brommel was recently named Clark County’s poet laureate for 2022-24, and she’s got big plans that will take a whole community to achieve.

“I (want) to make sure we (don’t) lose all of the beautiful things that have been built by the poet laureates before … but also … there (is) room to explore what the poet laureate program still might become.” Brommel said. “We still have a lot of room to look at the different ways that poetry can be embedded in other programs that are occurring, in collaboration with other artists.”

The Clark County Commission designated Brommel as poet laureate under the program commissioners created in 2014 to “promote poetry as an art form and as a means of engaging the community,” according to the Clark County officials.

From creating fundraising corporations to promoting slam poetry events, each laureate gains access to a $2,500 stipend and up to $7,500 per year for programming. Brommel will be the fourth poet laureate in Clark County, following “strong poets” like Bruce Isaacson, Vogue Robinson and Heather Lang-Cassera — the most recent position holder.

“It takes a love of the art form, a love of poetry, and Angela definitely has that,” Isaacson said about Brommel assuming the poet laureate position. “It helps if you have been involved in the community of artists and writers in Southern Nevada and Clark County, and Angela definitely has that too.”

Isaacson has worked with Brommel since at least 2015, which was during his term as poet laureate. He said he is “really excited for (Brommel)” and “the community of artists here in Southern Nevada,” emphasizing that the county is in “strong hands” with Brommel leading poetry initiatives.

When the coronavirus pandemic forced the events and classes to move online, many of the county’s poetry-pushing initiatives shifted to virtual or stopped operating. The focus of Brommel’s plans is to “deepen some of what (Clark County) might have” already — taking existing projects and making sure those are being utilized while supplementing them with her newer initiatives. She wants to connect artists with other artists and budding writers with resources.

Since Brommel was chosen as poet laureate, Irma Valera, program supervisor of the Winchester Dondero Cultural Center — where many of the poetry events are held — has spoken with her about the budding programs that will highlight the natural landscape of Southern Nevada while encouraging artist collaborations. One of the new projects Brommel plans on initiating is “Poetry in the Parks, which will include poetry workshops, reading and at least two special events with guest poets,” Valera said.

The Writer-Ready program is another way Brommel intends to connect writers with information. Writer-Ready will be a Sunday class which writers across all experience levels can attend to learn how to improve their writing and discuss tools that can “make (them) writer-ready,” whether that means touching up their 70-word biography or knowing where to find calls for poetry submissions. Her first class will take place Sunday.

Others in the Las Vegas art community will also get their chance to be a part of Brommel’s efforts to increase the county’s participation in poetry.

Collaborating with other artists, whether they make music or paint, is important to Brommel. She said she was “very interested in how other people work” and believes that “there’s something really cool when art communities mesh together.” By finding similarities between the art forms, Brommel hopes more “exciting conversations will be had” and artists will connect to create works.

Brommel has plenty of experience working with other artists. Her poetry has been involved in numerous projects across the county, including the recent Wetlands Park Art Installation and the mobile Poetry Matters! digital billboard. She also, in 2018, was referred to the Red Rock Artist in Residence program by a local visual artist.

“We live in the kind of community where things pop up, everyone tells their friends, everyone tells other artists, they tell other poets, they post on social media,” Brommel said. “We have that kind of community where people think of other artists in that way.”

Brommel began her term as poet laureate July 1 and will now conduct discussions with members of the county to evaluate what programs are already available and what new projects could be created.

“We have a great arts community, and a great writing community,” Brommel said. “There are exciting conversations to be had.”