National Youth Poet Laureate Finalists Read with Jacqueline Woodson at the Poetry Foundation

 

CHICAGO – On Friday and Saturday, March 10–11, five young poets representing five regions across the United States as finalists in the National Youth Poet Laureate program will read at the Poetry Foundation in a culminating event before the Youth Poet Laureate is announced in April. This two-day program concludes a year-long series of readings, performances, workshops, and national campaigns that address the issues young people face in America. Jacqueline Woodson, the Young People’s Poet Laureate and author of Brown Girl Dreaming, the National Book Award-winning memoir in verse, will introduce the youth poets on March 10 and read from selected works on the evening of March 11.

“The Poetry Foundation is proud to partner with such an important program,” said Henry Bienen, president of the Poetry Foundation. “The National Youth Poet Laureate initiative provides much-needed creative and community support for gifted young writers and leaders.”

The National Youth Poet Laureate program was founded in 2008 in New York City by the award-winning literary arts organization Urban Word. It has grown to partner with local literary organizations in thirty-five cities and states to name local Youth Poet Laureates and award each winner with a book deal from Penmanship Books.

“In these times when our civil liberties are threatened more than ever,” said Michael Cirelli, executive director of Urban Word, “it is imperative that leaders continue to champion platforms for diverse and outspoken youth. We are grateful that the Poetry Foundation values youth voices that are at the forefront of social change.”

“The National Youth Poet Laureate Program taps into both the power of poetry and the power of ideas,” said William Adams, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. “It expands our efforts to nurture the next generation of purpose-driven, creative young leaders by having them engage with renowned scholars, poets, and writers around contemporary issues facing our society.”

“This new initiative will support outstanding spoken word poets from across the country who will serve as ambassadors for creative expression,” said Megan Beyer, executive director of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. “At the same time they will enrich spoken word and educational programming in targeted underserved communities across the United States.”

The National Youth Poet Laureate Finalists

Hajjar Baban is currently serving as the Detroit Youth Poet Laureate. She attends the University of Wisconsin–Madison through the First Wave scholarship, edits poetry for UNDRSCR, and has performed in poetry slams nationwide. A Pakistani-born Afghan Kurdish poet, her work has been published by Detroit Free Press, InsideOut, Albion College, and Creative Communications.

Nkosi Nkululeko is the 2016 New York City Youth Poet Laureate. He has received fellowships from Callaloo and The Watering Hole as well as nominations for the Independent Best American Poetry award and the Pushcart Prize. His work can be found in [PANK] Magazine, VINYL, No Tokens, decomP, and other publications.

Andrew White is Houston’s first Youth Poet Laureate, and the Youth Ambassador of Spoken Word for the Southwest. He attends New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts as a Dramatic Writing major. His work has appeared in Poetry magazine, Octopus Ink, InPrint Magazine, and the Houston Chronicle.

Amanda Gorman was named Los Angeles’ first Youth Poet Laureate in 2014 and is currently the Inaugural Youth Poet Laureate of the West. She is the founder and executive director of the literacy and writing nonprofit One Pen One Page. Her book, The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough, was released last year. Her writing appears in The Wall Street Journal, Elle, The Huffington Post, and ASOS Mag.

Lagnajita Mukhopadhyay served as Nashville’s first Youth Poet Laureate in 2015 and was named Southeast Regional Youth Poet Laureate in 2016. Her book, this is our war, was published in 2015. Her work appears in Nashville Arts Magazine, The Tennessean, Chapter 16, and on the Poetry Society of America website.

*Photos available upon request

For more information about the National Youth Poet Laureate event on March 10 and 11, visit the Poetry Foundation event page.

In April 2017 in New York City, Urban Word, along with the leading national poetry organizations, will name the first ever National Youth Poet Laureate. For more information, visit www.youthlaureate.org.

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About the Poetry Foundation

The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. The Poetry Foundation seeks to be a leader in shaping a receptive climate for poetry by developing new audiences, creating new avenues for delivery and encouraging new kinds of poetry through innovative literary prizes and programs. For more information, please visit poetryfoundation.org.
Follow the Poetry Foundation and Poetry on Facebook at facebook.com/poetryfoundation or on Twitter @PoetryFound.

About Urban Word

Urban Word, founded in 1999 in New York City, champions the voices of NYC youth by providing platforms for critical literacy, youth development, and leadership through free and uncensored writing, college prep and performance opportunities. Presenting literary arts education and youth programs in the areas of creative writing, spoken word, college prep, literature, and hip-hop, Urban Word’s host of programs and artistic development opportunities serve more than 25,000 NYC teens each year. Through their Creatively College Bound Program, Urban Word awards more than $1,000,000 in scholarships to prestigious colleges and universities each year. In 2008, Urban Word launched the National Youth Poet Laureate Program that celebrates artistic excellence, civic engagement and social justice in more than 35 cities across the county. Learn more about Urban Word and the Youth Poet Laureate movement at www.urbanwordnyc.org and www.youthlaureate.org/.

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