Hello, there. I'm the 2021-2023 City of Fresno Poet Laureate.

That’s me, Megan Anderson Bohigian. I write and love poetry, and I especially love the work of the Fresno Poets—I’ll have more to say about this admirable group in another blog post.

On April 22, 2021, in a virtual ceremony at a Fresno City Council meeting, I was appointed to this post by Mayor Jerry Dyer. For the occasion, I wrote a poem dedicated to the City of Fresno called “We Carry Our City Inside Us.” You can see a video of that virtual reading at https://www.fresnoartscouncil.org

I moved here in 1964, graduated from McLane High School and went away to college, then returned for a job after graduation, and life happened––and I’m still here. My husband Ron Bohigian and I are both retired educators, and we have grown children. My four are Anders and Nicholas Bergstrom, and Kelsey Bergstrom Young and Victoria Bergstrom Evans. Ron's three daughters, Erin Moore, Bryn Buhler, and Cara Bohigian Modaffari, and all their families. We’re expecting our 7th grandchild in September, '21.

I have always been a poet. When I finally figured out what I wanted to do for a living when I grew up, I became a teacher––the smartest move I ever made. I could never believe I got paid to have as much fun as I did as a teacher every day. I taught writing at all levels––to kids, K-12, in Fresno Unified, to teachers for the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project and University of Phoenix, and to adults at Fresno City College, Fresno State’s Osher Institute, and in private workshops. Creative writing has always been the heart of my teaching.

Once a teacher, always a teacher, though, so bear with me. There will be teacherly moments in some of these blog posts, but I hope you’ll play along (eyerolls permissible!).