Peering Into the Creative Life of San Diego’s New Poet Laureate

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

North Park resident Paola Capó-García was recently named “poet laureate” for the City of San Diego, a title that the 37-year old author and high school teacher will carry for the next two years. She is the city’s third poet laureate since the civic honor was established in 2020.

A native of Puerto Rico, she will play a significant role by bridging local communities together through literary events at public spaces and schools. It is her responsibility to curate programs as she sees fit for helping to inspire creativity and reflection, in shall we say, a poetic manner.

The honorable title she received from the city got us wondering: Is there such a thing as career poets? If so, how do they get started? Is pay involved? And do other cities in the U.S. also appoint poet laureates?

Capó-García provided us with articulate insight while sharing a few secrets about her personal writing process.

Downtown Condo Guys: Congratulations on being named San Diego’s 2025-2027 poet laureate. How did the appointment come about?

Capó-García: There was an application process that required work samples, plus three references and a letter of interest explaining what I want to do in the role. A couple days after applying, I was told that I made it to the next round of interviews, which was narrowed down to three people. I don’t know how many people initially applied. But the day after my second interview, I received an email saying that I got it.

Downtown Condo Guys: What is your assumed role as our city’s poet laureate?

Capó-García: My role will be about making poetry as useful and accessible as possible to a wide range of people. I will lead workshops, give public readings, and facilitate poetry projects for the city. In some cases I’ll be going into schools and working with local arts organizations for poetry workshops.

For National Poetry Month in April, I already have poetry events set up in two local libraries. One of them is at 2:30p, April 12 at the Mission Hills-Hillcrest branch, and the other is at 6:00p, April 14, at the University Heights branch.

Downtown Condo Guys: Is it a paid position?

Capó-García: It comes with an incremental stipend, but those are the funds used for my events.

Downtown Condo Guys: What do you do for a living?

Capó-García: I work at High Tech High Graduate School of Education at the Liberty Station campus. We help K-12 educators develop curriculums through hands-on projects, which we call ‘transformative learning experiences.’ Before that I was a writing instructor at UCSD for a few years but took a break for a year to work at the Mingei Museum as a marketing and social media coordinator.

Downtown Condo Guys: When did you move from Puerto Rico to San Diego?

Capó-García: I moved here in 2013 for graduate school at UCSD, where I earned a Master of Fine Arts for creative writing and with a focus on poetry. I also did a master’s in English at UC Davis and graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Science degree in magazine journalism and English & textural studies.

Downtown Condo Guys: You wrote a book of poems afterwards, correct?

Capó-García: Yes. I wrote it in 2018. It’s a collection of my poetry called Clap for Me That’s Not Me. It’s my goal to put a second book together. But life gets in the way sometimes—and teaching is a heavy load.

Downtown Condo Guys: How would you describe your style of poetry?

Capó-García: It’s very playful. I use a lot of humor—darker humor, and I make references to pop culture quite a bit. I’ve always been pretty political, always interested in social movements and social justice and how poetry can be a tool for those things.

Downtown Condo Guys: When writing poems, do surroundings matter?

Capó-García: It depends. Whole poems might not come to me, but a line of a poem could come to me when I’m doing dishes or walking my dog. As far as writing an entire poem, I need quiet and privacy. You’re not going to catch me at a coffee shop writing a whole poem.

Downtown Condo Guys: How short or long are your poems?

Capó-García: The shortest poem I’ve written is six lines. And I’ve had poems that go on for two pages. But I like brevity; I like to keep things short.

Downtown Condo Guys: Your poems have appeared in a number of national publications such as the Latino Book Review, Poetry Society of America, The Volt and others. What advice would you give aspiring poets on how to get their works published?

Capó-García: Purchase a lot of journals, both print and digital, to get a sense of their style. Also, you have to be okay with rejections because you’re going to get a lot of them.

Downtown Condo Guys: Do publishers typically pay for poetry?

Capó-García: Definitely don’t do poetry for the money because there isn’t a lot of compensation for it. Some give you honorariums as their way of supporting you. The New Yorker and the Paris Review might work differently. But I don’t publish in those.

Downtown Condo Guys: Do other cities appoint poet laureates?

Capó-García: Yes, it’s very common across the United States.

Downtown Condo Guys: What poets, living or dead, have inspired you?

Capó-García: When I was younger, Langston Hughes and also the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. I was exposed to them through high school teachers. Of Langston’s poetry, I really loved his clarity and musicality and the way he referenced history as it was happening. He lived through the Harlem Renaissance and Jim Crow. The same for Federico, who was wrestling with history, but in Spain. I’m interested in poetry that speaks to the moment.

Downtown Condo Guys: Do you foresee yourself writing poetry well into your later years?

Capó-García: Yes, it’s a lifetime pursuit, as well as helping others write it, which is actually my biggest passion. I don’t see the difference between writing poetry professionally or recreationally. They are the same to me.

Downtown Condo Guys: When you aren’t in writing mode, what are your favorite pass times?

Capó-García: My partner and I love walking around our neighborhood in North Park with our two dogs. I also love trying new restaurants around the city. Some of our regulars are Counterpoint in Golden Hill and Shan Xi Magic Kitchen in the Convoy District.