Benicia Poet Laureate Don Peery said he plans to award a $500 scholarship to a graduating Benicia student who has shown ongoing interest in poetry and who has participated in poetry activities.

A student of either Benicia High School or Liberty High School will receive the scholarship during his or her school’s graduation ceremony, Peery said.

Candidates for the scholarship will be those who meet several criteria: participation in the Poetry Out Loud program, when it is offered; attendance at First Tuesday Poetry meetings, 6:45 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month at Benicia Public Library, 150 East L St.; and membership in a formal or informal poetry group.

The student also needs to have written a collection of poems and have both evidence of an interest in poetry and a recommendation from his or her principal. The collected poems need to be arranged, edited and prepared for submission to Peery for judging.

“Note that April is National Poetry Month — poetry is in the air,” said Johanna Ely, who also is active in the local poetry community and who helped Peery make the announcement.

Peery said the goal of what he called the Poetry Scholarship Program “is encouraging students to read poetry, to learn about poetry, and to experience poetry at the do-it-yourself level, by writing poetry.

“I think many high school kids believe poetry is sissy stuff, written only by dainty tea drinkers, about love and buttercups. Poetry is about real life, written by real live people. Good poetry can change the world,” he said.

He said all Benicia students can start working toward the awards by participating in poetry activities.

“Document the experiences gained in lower grades and combine them with your senior-year experiences,” he suggested.

Contributions to the Poetry Scholarship Program may be sent to Benicia Literary Arts, attention Benicia Poet Laureate Don Peery, P.O. Box 1903, Benicia, Calif., 94510.

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