City of West Hollywood Selects Randal Mason as the Next West Hollywood City Poet Laureate

The City Council of the City of West Hollywood, at its meeting on Monday, October 5, 2026, approved Randal Mason as the next City Poet Laureate, serving from October 2026 to October 2029. Mason was selected through an application process with a selection committee comprised of members from the Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission, LA County Library's West Hollywood branch, the Friends of the West Hollywood Library, and former and current West Hollywood City Poets Laureate.

The City of West Hollywood has a deep commitment to the arts and celebrating the rich literary culture of West Hollywood, which includes such programs as its WeHo Reads literary series, Poetry Month celebrations and creation of the West Hollywood City Poet Laureate program in 2014. Previous City Poets Laureate are Steven Reigns, Kim Dower, Charles Flowers, Brian Sonia-Wallace, and Jen Cheng (who serves into October 2026).

Randal Mason (he/him) is a poet and writer living in West Hollywood. Raised in working-class Pennsylvania, he writes about identity, interconnection, and finding awe in everyday moments. His poetry and writing can be found or is forthcoming in the San Diego Poetry Annual, Jewel City Review, The Huffington Post, Eunoia Review, Dreams in Hiding Anthology, and elsewhere. His debut chapbook, Atlas Poetics: Tales of Travel was selected as a Fountain Fellows project for publication by wokealicious press in 2026. Atlas Poetics draws on his experience traveling to 30 countries as an advisor in the nonprofit sector and collaborating with human rights advocates around the world. In West Hollywood, Mason is a member of Pride Poets with whom he has created typewriter poetry at events such as WeHo Pride. Mason can be found online at www.RandalWrites.com.

As West Hollywood City Poet Laureate, Randal Mason will serve as a cultural ambassador, and will engage with the community through poetry, participate in public events, and promote the literary arts throughout the City. He will begin his term as the sixth West Hollywood City Poet Laureate by reading a poem at an upcoming meeting of the City's Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission, which will take place on Thursday, October 22, 2026 at 5 p.m. at West Hollywood City Hall in the First Floor Community Meeting Room, located at 8300 Santa Monica Boulevard. This is a public meeting, and all are welcome to attend.

The City of West Hollywood's Arts Division delivers a broad array of arts programs including Art on the Outside (temporary public art), City Poet Laureate, Drag Laureate, Free Theatre in the Parks, Arts Grants, Library Exhibits, National Poetry Month, Summer Sounds + Winter Sounds, Urban Art (permanent public art), the WeHo Pride Arts Festival, and WeHo Reads. For more information about City of West Hollywood arts programming, please visit www.weho.org/arts.

For additional information about the City Poet Laureate program, please visit www.weho.org/community/arts-and-culture/literary-arts/city-poet.

For more information, please contact Mike Che, the City of West Hollywood's Arts Coordinator, at (323) 848-6377 or at [email protected]. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing dial 711 or 1-800-735-2929 (TTY) or 1-800-735-2922 (voice) for California Relay Service (CRS) assistance.

For up-to-date information about City of West Hollywood news and events, follow @wehocity on social media, sign-up for news updates at www.weho.org/email, and visit the City's calendar of meetings and events at www.weho.org/calendar. Receive text updates by texting "WeHo" to (323) 848-5000. Read feature articles about people, places, and City events at www.helloweho.com. City programs and services information is available at www.weho.org.

For reporters and members of the media seeking additional information about the City of West Hollywood, please contact the City of West Hollywood's Public Information Officer, Sheri A. Lunn, at (323) 848-6391 or [email protected].