Combining poetry and politics

Still, progress often comes with complications. The tech boom drew new residents who wanted to be close to their jobs but hiked property values forced Latino and Black families out. 

The second youngest mayor in the city’s history, López has long championed equity in both poetry and policy. On the East Palo Alto City Council, he worked to diversify the Sequoia High School District administration. A proud Mexican American, he works with nonprofit organizations like El Concilio of San Mateo County and Ayudando Latinos A Soñar to advocate for cultural, social and health inequities.

As a storyteller, López wants to reshape the longstanding narrative about East Palo Alto and its residents, dismantling stereotypes on race, class and economic status. In 2021, López published "Gentefication," a poetry collection narrating his youth and coming of age in East Palo Alto while expanding his relationship with his race, identity, class and spirituality. His book was selected by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gregory Pardlo for the 2021 Lewis Prize in Poetry, published by Four Way Books, for his work that “adorns novelty with innovation.”

He left the council after four years in December and learned the county was seeking its next poet laureate and he got it through the recommendation of San Mateo County supervisors Noelia Corzo and Lisa Gauthier, the latter who he ran against for the position in November. With his new role as the ambassador for the county's literary arts and culture, López seeks to aid people deprived of expression find their voice once more through wordsmithing. Combining his passion for the arts and public service, EPA's resident "poetician" endeavors to keep poetry accessible for everyone across the county, including community members who face incarceration.

Prisoner work

López's desire to work with people in prison is personal. Growing up, he witnessed his peers fall into the school-to-prison pipeline, policies with punishments that force students out of class. Fueled with empathy and a yearning for change, López aims to amplify the rage and hopes of the marginalized communities against a system that disproportionately affects people of color in the county.

In the past, López took inspiration from documents such as syllabi, police reports, brochures and proclamations and adapted them to poetic allegories that confront injustices in EPA and San Mateo County. In working with the incarcerated writers, López implores the literary tradition to empower writers with the confidence they need to win hearts and minds with words.

The gist of López's project is to unite writers in prison with the rest of the community and establish belongingness regardless of legal status. During his two-year tenure, he will lead workshops and collect the works of incarcerated contributors in the county to turn them into an anthology conveying their stories, experiences and cogitations on life and the status quo.

"One of the things that I truly believe is we are not defined by our worst mistake in this life," López said. "All of us have these moments where we say, 'You know what, I messed up,' but I don't think that should haunt you for the rest of your life."

López is finishing his doctorate in modern thought and literature at Stanford University, where he also works hands-on with people in prison under the Stanford Jail & Prison Education Program. Together with other grad students, they devise six- to eight-week courses to teach people in jail new skills and literacies. The program has previously explored photography, psychology and writing, among other fields. According to López, the program engages incarcerated people with the "intellectual stimulation" they otherwise would not receive to improve themselves.

"Many of them are going to leave and get back into society, and so how do we prepare them for that?" said López. "How do we ensure they feel ready socially, emotionally and educationally? So this is our small way of doing that."

‘Language of the unheard’

Aimee Shapiro, executive director of the San Mateo County Office of Arts and Culture, shares López's vision of including people who face stigma and exclusion due to their legal status. She believes his experience and involvement in the community make him the right person to make poetry not only more visible to the county but also available for everyone.

"We need to see artists use their platforms to talk about justice, to call out inequity, to bring communities together," Shapiro said.

Former county poet laureate Aileen Cassinetto worked alongside López in the past open mic and poetry events she hosted. In an email, she said she roots for López, who she calls "Tony," because he speaks the tongue that binds immigrants together: "the language of the unheard."

"Poetry is about possibilities, and Tony is someone who has pushed against boundaries and navigated spaces with intention to redefine what's possible. I have no doubt that he can inspire our siloed communities into a collective force for meaningful change," Cassinetto said.

San Mateo County officially announced López's appointment last month to celebrate National Poetry Month. Over the next two years, he will receive a $5,000 stipend and up to $2,000 yearly to support his project and future programming. López will help sustain the art scene around the county — spearheading open mic and poetry events and collaborating with different cities to immerse more county residents with poetry and writing.

"In this moment,” he said, “we need to connect and really humanize the conversations and have these different conversations in ways that center people's lives.”