By Matt Sedillo
Photography Julian Lucas
Published 3/14/2023 12:03 Am PST

Recently, I had the honor of sitting down with Ceasar Avelar, who became Pomona’s newest Poet Laureate at the beginning of the year for the city of Pomona.

Tell us about your commitment to what you call blue collar poetry?

When it comes to writing poetry, I write exclusively through the sociological lens of a blue-collar worker. Writing from this perspective creates a singular form of writing, but this singular form creates a picture of how beautifully complex and juxtaposed proletariat life is. The way I practice this commitment is by invisoning poems using the factory and my identity as a worker as my stage. A stage that extends itself when I leave and reappears whenever a poem presents itself; so I can bring my blue-collar social status to the front of my expression. As the majority of the world knows, being a blue collar worker is complex. Not only do we make consumer products but also consume them. This relationship we have with society is extreme, yet normalized to the point where no one talks openly of what they do for a living unless it is to brag or compete. As workers I feel like our reality is based on our value in society, and if we are good enough to work our lives away, then we are more than good enough to contribute to a creative culture that continuously keeps pushing us out.

Who have been some of your mentors in the past?

My parents are my greatest mentors. My parents are Central American. My Mom is from Honduras and My Dad is from El Salvador. They both came during different times in their lives, but for the most part the push factor that brought them both here was poverty. When The United Fruit Company left Honduras, my Mother had to find work, and her best option was to come to the United States for a better opportunity. During this process she had to leave my older Sister and older Brother behind. My Father came two years before the Civil War began in his country, already experiencing the violence and political turmoil that comes from a divided country. Other mentors that have helped me in my writing are Luis J. Rodriguez, Matt Sedillo, William A. Gonzalez, and Jason “Raize” Gamble. Knowing them and speaking to them, has given me the confidence to walk through uncertain territory when writing. They have taught me to allow myself the freedom to try new things and never stop being a student to the craft of writing.

Tell us about Obsidian Tongues?

Obsidian Tongues Open Mic was founded by me in 2017. It goes down every second Saturday of the month at Cafe Con Libros Press in the Arts Colony in Pomona, CA. It goes on the same night as the Pomona Art Walk on Second Street.There's always a strong creative energy at Obsidian Tongues. We will soon reach our 6th year anniversary and we don't plan on stopping. We just added a workshop to it; it’ll take place before the open mic starts in which a featured poet will lead us into writing. Obsidian Tongues’ purpose is to bring poets out to the community. So many folks in Pomona write poetry, so it is a must that we come together, the way the proletariat should. It's not only poets that come to Obsidian Tongues, we have great musicians that come, we have great storytellers, we have folks that come to interpret songs from Spanish to English, we have folks that come and tell us how they fought through their day. Obsidian Tongues is not only an open mic, it’s a community for the creative souls of the working class.

Tell us more about your upcoming book?

My upcoming book is called God of the Air Hose. This book was mostly written inside the factory. Much of this book is about the interaction of workers inside the factory. The book touches on nationality, the division of labor, and the alienation caused by labor. I feel like most folks that talk about labor talk about the solidarity of workers, but in this book I talk about why solidarity is needed. As workers we are ridiculed, neglected and on a daily basis, disrespected to our faces and expected to be grateful for this treatment. God of the Air Hose is a book that talks about the fragmentation created amongst proletariats competing for space in the workplace, as well as the solidarity and friendships that are made along the way.

What does Pomona have to look forward to you with you as the new laureate?

As Poet Laureate you can expect more voices of working class poets to be heard in the City of Pomona. My vision is to collaborate with the library to bring workshops and readings from not only poets of color, but also poets that have the same vision of empowering the community through poetry. It is my goal to have social events that invite other Poet Laureates to share their work and journey in order to create bridges and resources for our hard working community of Pomona. There are so many poets and publishers that need to meet one another. There are so many important voices that must be heard; and as Poet Laureate part of my mission is to bring poets together with the intention of not only promoting poetry, but bringing opportunity to poets as well. Our community not only has talent, but also the heart of the working class people who need resources and opportunity to flourish as writers.

Matt Sedillo has been described as the "best political poet in America" as well as "the poet laureate of the struggle" by academics, poets, and journalists alike. He has appeared on CSPAN and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, among other publications.