Islanders are invited to join in the passing of Vashon’s Poet Laureate crown to Margaret Roncone, who will serve in the post for the next two years.

This event, from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24, will feature poetry readings by some of Vashon’s previous Poet Laureates. A brief ceremony will take place when Vashon’s current Poet Laureate, Sandra Noel, hands the honor over to Roncone, who will also do a reading.

The celebration will take place at Dig Deep Gardens, at 19028 Vashon Hwy Sw. The bar will be open and there will be cake for all.

Roncone will be Vashon’s seventh Poet Laureate, in this grassroots, community-organized program started by Ron Irvine, of Vashon Winery, 12 years ago.

Roncone’s poetry collection, “A Sleeve of Blue,” was published in 2022 by Goldfish Press. Her poetry has appeared in Chrysanthemum, Goose River Anthology, Three Birds Dreaming, a collaborative anthology with two other poets, and online in Barnwood International Poetry Journal, Avocet, and Poets Against War, and was performed as part of the Pierce College 10-Mintue Play Program.

She hosted an open mic in Seattle for 10 years, on Vashon Island for two years, and curated a poetry series at Chief Seattle Club. Frequent walks in Vashon’s forests keep her inspired.

Learn more about Vashon’s Poet Laureates and the importance of poetry in the life of a small community by watching an interview with inaugural Poet Laureate Anne Spiers and out-going Poet Laureate, Sandra Noel, here.