Area writers and poetry enthusiasts are invited to a special program on Saturday, Jan. 30 at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 2737 Pacific Ave., Stockton.

Tama Brisbane, Stockton’s first poet laureate, will join fellow With Our Words, WOW, poet Buddy Sahagun for the first of three Writers’ Toolbox workshops at the Jan. 30 session. The event, free and open to the public, will be held at 6 p.m. A reception will follow.

The series is sponsored by the Marion Jacobs Literary Forum, the Stockton Arts Foundation, Tuleburg Press, and the Heritage Writers’ Community. For more information, call 463-3390.

“The Writers’ Toolbox Reading Series” session on Saturday will focus on poetry with arts advocate Donna Marie acting as facilitator. The program will feature poets examining and exploring their creations in relation to their subjects and audiences. Questions will be welcomed.

The second “Toolbox” is set for May with a spotlight on short story writers. Children’s authors will be featured at the third and final session in September.

Brisbane is founder and director of WOW Inc., a non-profit slam poetry collective. Sahagun resurrected the Pierced Ear Poetry Slam and coached WOW students at the summer’s Brave New Voices Tournament in Pennsylvania