PORT ANGELES — Sequim native Jaiden Dokken has experience as a writer, a print maker, a ceramicist, a cider maker and, currently, a poet laureate.
Dokken’s term as Clallam County’s first poet laureate will come to an end in March, and applications are open for the county’s next two-year poet laureate position.
Qualifications include being committed to making poetry accessible and experience organizing or presenting programs or performances in the literary arts or other creative fields, according to the North Olympic Library System (NOLS) website.
Interested applicants must be over 18 and a resident of Clallam County, but Dokken said they don’t necessarily have to have published any poetry.
Before Dokken took this role, they said they didn’t have a lot of professional poetry experience. They had taken a few poetry classes, published a few pieces and done a few poetry readings, but they didn’t have a published book of poetry.
“It wasn’t as much of a normal practice for me,” Dokken said.
Now, Dokken said, “I’ve written more [poetry] in the past 1½ years than I have probably the rest of my life.”
The poet laureate position is open to interpretation. Dokken said they were told to host one to three free, public events per month but, other than that, they had a lot of creative license.
With those directives, Dokken said they tried to do “unlikely pairings of events and collaborators.”
“It’s been very silly and fun to be like, I don’t know, what are some wild events we can put on?” Dokken said.
One of their favorite events was “permanent poetry.” That event, held at Coastal Lines Tattoo Emporium, was a collaboration of poetry reading, a book swap, slices of Sour Baby Bakery Cake and flash tattoos by Molly Troxler.
Dokken said that combination of “unlikely pairings” was effective at bringing people for a variety of reasons — not just for poetry.
One person who was there for tattoos told Dokken it was the first time they had ever heard a poetry reading.
“I didn’t know it could be this fun,” the attendee told Dokken.
In all, Dokken has hosted or participated in more than 40 online and in-person events.
They plan to host a couple more events every month until March, although plans are still being solidified.
The goal of the poet laureate position, in Dokken’s opinion, is “to create and develop and enhance the poetic community out here [in the county].”
However, the “poetic community” doesn’t necessarily refer to people who already consider themselves poets, Dokken said.
“The goal for me was to try to bring as many people into the world of poetry as possible, to kind of catch people off guard who think they didn’t like poetry,” they added.
With that goal in mind, Dokken said the events they’ve hosted have found success. At every one, someone experienced a “first” — first time coming to a poetry event, first time writing a poem or first time sharing a poem out loud.
However, Dokken said they hope the next poet laureate doesn’t feel as if they have to follow their path.
“I want them to be really excited about their events and take it in a totally different direction that feels exciting for them,” Dokken said. “I don’t want anyone to feel like they have to mimic what I have done.”
To help compensate the individuals for their work, Clallam County poet laureates are given an annual $5,000 stipend funded by the North Olympic Library Foundation and Clallam County.
There also is potential for additional support for the events. Dokken said many didn’t require many materials – often a tote bag full of writing supplies and poetry books would suffice. However, when Dokken co-hosted an event or needed supplies, they said the North Olympic Library System was “super willing” to help.
Individuals interested in becoming Clallam County’s second poet laureate, or those who are looking for more information, can go to NOLS.org/NextPoet. Applications are open until Dec. 9. The position will run for two years, from April 2025 to March 2027.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
