Lester Graves Lennon and Sehba Sarwar Selected as New Altadena Poets Laureate

Rosebud magazine Poetry Editor and two-time Pushcart Prize nominee Lester Graves Lennon is the Altadena Poet Laureate Editor in Chief and Sehba Sarwar—writer, poet, artist, teacher and social activist—is the Altadena Poet Laureate for Community Events for the 2024-2026 term. The announcement was made by outgoing poets Peter J. Harris and Carla R. Sameth at the Ode to the Land event at Zorthian Ranch on April 7.

Lester Graves Lennon is an investment banker whose career in public finance exceeds 40 years. His first book of poetry, “The Upward Curve of Earth and Heavens” (2001), can be found in 70 public and university libraries. His second book of poetry, “My Father Was a Poet,” was published in 2013, and his third, “Lynchings: Postcards from America,” was published in 2022.

Sehba Sarwar creates text and art that tackle displacement, migration, and women’s issues. The second edition of her novel, “Black Wings,” was released in 2019 (Veliz Books). Her essays and poems have appeared in publications including the New York Times, Creative Time Reports, Asia: Magazine of Asian Literature, Callaloo, Los Angeles Times, and elsewhere.

Sarwar and Sarwar will be planning a schedule of programs, including the traditional Poetry & Cookies reading at Altadena Main Library every April. Once the schedule is confirmed, it will be announced via the Altadena Library’s email list and social media.

This year’s Poetry & Cookies event—which included work from poets published in the “Altadena Poetry Review: Anthology 2024”—was held on Saturday, April 27, at the Altadena Main Library. The anthology can be purchased at http://www.goldenfoothillspress.com/index.html.

Tax deductible donations to support the Altadena Laureate Program can be made via the Friends of the Altadena Library at altadenalibrary.org/friends.

Sehba Sarwar, Poet Laureate for Community Events

Sehba Sarwar creates text and art that tackle displacement, migration, and women’s issues. The second edition of her novel, “Black Wings,” was released in 2019 (Veliz Books). Her essays and poems have appeared in publications including the New York Times, Creative Time Reports, Asia: Magazine of Asian Literature, Callaloo, Los Angeles Times, and elsewhere while her short stories are anthologized in Feminist Press, Akashic Books, and Harper Collins India.

In 2000, while based in Houston, Sarwar founded and ran a social justice arts organization, Voices Breaking Boundaries, through which Sarwar initiated projects such as “Borderlines” to explore border issues in North America and South Asia. Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan in a home filled with artists and activists, Sarwar resides in the San Gabriel Valley where she writes, teaches, and creates art. Her papers are archived at the University of Houston.

Lester Graves Lennon, Poet Laureate Editor in Chief

Lester Graves Lennon is the poetry editor for Rosebud magazine and an investment banker whose career in public finance exceeds 40 years. His first book of poetry, “The Upward Curve of Earth and Heavens” (2001), can be found in 70 public and university libraries including the Los Angeles Public Library, Columbia, Yale, Oxford and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he received his B.A. in English. His second book of poetry, “My Father Was a Poet,” was published in 2013.  His third poetry book, “Lynchings: Postcards from America,” was published in 2022. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2021 and 2023.

Lennon sits on the board of directors of the Community of Writers and is a member of the Friends of the Center for Humanities at the University of Wisconsin.  He is an emeritus member of the Board of Visitors for the English Department at the University of Wisconsin, and a past member of the board of directors for Red Hen Press. He was the primary mover in the creation of the Poet Laureate positions for both the City of Los Angeles and the City of Oakland, California. He was a founding member of the Los Angeles Mayor’s Poet Laureate Task Force and has lived with his family in Altadena since 1992.