Santa Clara County is seeking local poets to apply for the county's newly created poet laureate position.

The county's designated poet will hold the post for two years and has a variety of responsibilities, including reading appropriate works at the annual State of the County speech and participating in four additional county events per year.

The individual will take part in local events during National Poetry Month each April and serve as a poetry and literary resource for the Santa Clara County Library.

According to application materials, the poet laureate will also "undertake a project that will make poetry more available and accessible to people in their everyday lives."

Liz Kniss, president of the Board of Supervisors, said the program is "a very inexpensive way of supporting the arts," and a practice common in other cities and counties. She added that the position takes on new relevance in light of the nation's current economic woes.

"If there was ever a time when we could stand to hear something uplifting and that has a sense of raising your spirits, this is that time," she said.

The Board of Supervisors approved the position in November. The poet laureate will receive a $4,000 stipend, said Kniss' chief of staff, Pattie DeMellopine. The funds come from hotel tax dollars already dedicated to the Arts Council Silicon Valley, she said.

Applications and information on eligibility are available on the county website, www.sccgov.org, in the category labeled "Hot Items". Applicants must have lived in Santa Clara County for at least five years and have published work they can submit for review.

The application deadline is 5 p.m. on Feb. 17. Supervisors will approve a final choice at the March 24 meeting.

— Bay City News Service