Joel Fallon

Joel Fallon (June 16, 1931 - August 11, 2016)[1] was the first Poet laureate of Benicia, California. He is the namesake of the Joel Fallon poetry scholarship[2] awarded annually since 2015[3] to high school students in Benicia, California. He was a founding member of the Benicia First Tuesday Poets, which meets at the Benicia Library monthly since 2003,[4] and also helped begin the Benicia Love Poetry Contest[2] and the annual Poets’ Picnic.[2] He was named Benicia’s first poet laureate in 2005.[4] He helped Genea Brice[4] advocate for a poet laureate program in neighboring Vallejo, California. He also served as a vice president of Arts Benicia.[1] Fallon began writing poetry while serving overseas in the United States Army.[4] He was influenced by Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Charles Bukowski.[3] His successors include Robert Shelby, Ronna Leon, Lois Requist, Don Peery, Johanna Ely, and Tom Stanton.[5]

Joel Fallon
Born(1931-06-16)June 16, 1931
DiedAugust 11, 2016(2016-08-11) (aged 85)
OccupationPoet laureate of Benicia, California

Works

Collections
  • Peery, Don, ed. The Book of Joel (Benicia Literary Arts, 2019)[6]

Chapbooks
  • Apple Wind[3]
  • A Gathering of Angels[3]
  • Clean Sheets, Dirty Woman[3]
  • Shanghai Wilson[3]

Albums
  • Fallon Reads Fallon (2010)[3]

See also

References
  1. "Joel Fallon Obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  2. Sestanovich, Nick (20 April 2018). "Poetry event to raise money for Joel Fallon Scholarship". Benicia Herald. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  3. Sestanovich, Nick (14 August 2016). "Joel Fallon, Benicia's first poet laureate, dies". Benicia Herald. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  4. Widjojo, Irma (26 April 2016). "Voices: First Benicia poet laureate shares love of the art". Vallejo Times-Herald. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  5. "Poet Laureate | Benicia Public Library". benicialibrary.org. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  6. "A Capitol celebration of Joel Fallon, Benicia's first Poet Laureate with launch of The Book of Joel". Benicia Herald. May 16, 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
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