The Poet Laureate initiative was developed by the El Segundo Arts and Culture Advisory Committee and approved by the City Council in June 2021. Funding for the Poet Laureate initiative is provided by the Cultural Development Program Fund—a percent for art fund established in 2019 to increase public access to the arts, encourage civic engagement, contribute towards realizing artistic and cultural equity and inclusion, create opportunities for artists and art organizations in the region, and to transform people, places, and communities.

El Segundo Introduces New Poet Laureate

Meet Kweku Abimbola

Please join us in welcoming Kweku Abimbola to El Segundo as the City's second poet laureate!

Born in the Gambia, Abimbola earned his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in poetry from the University of Michigan's Helen Zell Writer's Program. He is of Gambian, Ghanaian, Nigerian, and Sierra Leonean descent.

Abimbola's first full-length poetry collection, Saltwater Demands a Psalm, was published by Graywolf Press in 2023. The debut collection was selected by Tyehimba Jess to receive the Academy of American Poets First Book Award. In 2024, Saltwater Demands a Psalm also received a gold medal Florida Book Award, and the inaugural Nossrat Yassini Poetry Prize. His work looks at the intersection of West African spirituality, ethnomusicology, cultural expression, and poetics to appreciate the legacies of Black literature on a global scale.

He has worked as a teaching artist for the Detroit-based literary nonprofit Inside Out Literary Arts and lectured in English and Creative Writing at the University of Michigan. Abimbola is an Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at Loyola Marymount University.

The Poet Laureate Program is a City initiative funded by El Segundo's Cultural Development Fund. The poet laureate was selected by a committee representing members from the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee and the Cultural Arts Coordinator. The program seeks to promote diverse voices and perspectives in shaping and furthering the literary arts, culture, and creative expression. Abimbola’s term as poet laureate is two-years through the end of 2026.

Abimbola has programs planned to engage community members of all ages. Writing experience is not necessary to participate in any of the activities. 

For more information about Poet Laureate Kweku Abimbola and any upcoming programs, please reach out to Senior Librarian Julie Todd at 310-524-2729 or jtodd@elsegundo.org.

 El Segundo’s Inaugural Poet Laureate-Hope Anita Smith 2022-2024

Hope Anita Smith is El Segundo’s inaugural Poet Laureate. She is an award-winning author, poet, illustrator, and motivational speaker. She has garnered the Coretta Scott King Award, American Library Association Notable Children’s Book Award, and School Library Journal’s Best Book of 2008. Smith teaches poetry-writing workshops to writers of all ages. She attended La Sierra University, California, where she majored in English. Smith, a native of Akron, Ohio, now resides in Los Angeles, California.

Throughout her tenure, Smith served as a liaison, advocate, and leader for poetry, spoken word, and the literary arts. She inspired El Segundo’s diverse residents to foster a greater appreciation of words and represented the City and the literary arts through engaging and conceptually driven, original works stimulated by and in response to the local communities. She cultivated critical thinking from and connections to the literary arts through public readings, in-person poetry/writing workshops and programs, and civic events. Hope developed working relationships with City staff and project partners and collaborated during her two-year term that ran from January 3, 2022 to December 31, 2023. See photos of City Council's recognition of her service here at the April 15, 2025 meeting. Thank you, Hope! 

Poets in Conversation with Jacqueline Woodson and Hope Anita Smith

El Segundo Poet Laureate Hope Anita Smith and Award-Winning Author Jacqueline Woodson discuss the craft of poetry and writing, moderated by Brein Lopez of Children's Book World. Thank you to El Segundo's Cultural Development Program and to the Friends of the El Segundo Public Library for helping to make this happen.