Long Beach Public Library

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Home » Library » Learn » Youth Poet Laureate Program

Kids & Teens

Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate Program

Applications are now open!

Applications close February 21, 2023.

Application materials consist of a YPL Application (.docx), Curriculum Vitae, and 5 complete poems. Email your completed materials to Kiana.Martin@lbpl.org with the subject line "YPL Application 2023-2024." Good luck!

Are you a poet between the ages of 13-18? Are you a future leader who champions community advocacy and aspires to make a social impact that promotes the quality of life in Long Beach? If so, we want to hear your voice!

All Long Beach youth are welcome to attend Youth Poet Laureate events and submit their application for the opportunity to represent Long Beach through their activism and art.

The Youth Poet Laureate and Poet Ambassadors will be announced during the program's commencement ceremony in April and will serve as the city's inaugural cohort, representing literacy, the arts, and advocacy in our community.

Please note that calendar events are subject to change.

2022

October

Make a Difference Through Personal Responsibility

How can we enact change in our communities? By writing poetry! Taught by Kiana Shaley Martin.


Storms in Our Chest: From the Heart to the Page

Anger, sadness, frustration—we have all experienced these emotions. In this workshop, learn how to take these feelings and transform them from storms in our chest to poems. Taught by poet Ja'net Danielo.


Poet Hours

Stop by to discuss your poems, portfolio, or Youth Poet Laureate application. Held on select Thursdays from 5:00 – 6:00 PM. Meetings are available in person or via Zoom (Zoom Meeting ID: 864 500 9885).

  • October 6
  • October 27
November

Make a Difference Through Government Responsibility

Poets will discuss the government's responsibility to their citizens, and our responsibility to our communities. Taught by poet Tony Wallin-Sato.


Painting Poetry

Long Beach Professional Artist Fellow Trinh Mai will be facilitating a workshop for students in which they will be bringing a visual art language to their words. Works created during this workshop will be exhibited during the Youth Poet Laureate Commencement in spring of 2023.


Poetry x Art (Topic TBD)

Join us in this interdisciplinary, generative workshop! Taught by a Long Beach Arts Council Fellow.


Poet Hours

Stop by to discuss your poems, portfolio, or Youth Poet Laureate application. Held on select Thursdays from 5:00 – 6:00 PM. Meetings are available in person or via Zoom (Zoom Meeting ID: 864 500 9885).

  • November 17
December

The Social Responsibility of the Poet

Taught by poet, community organizer, and founder of the Los Angeles Poet Society, Jessica Wilson-Cardenas.


Multiculturalism as Poetic Mosaic

This workshop will invite participants to investigate their own multi-faceted multiculturalism, including food, music, rituals, family, history, religion, home, beliefs and values. Then, we will weave images from different categories together to create a poetic mosaic.Taught by poet Nancy Lynée Woo.


Poet Hours

Stop by to discuss your poems, portfolio, or Youth Poet Laureate application. Held on select Thursdays from 5:00 – 6:00 PM. Meetings are available in person or via Zoom (Zoom Meeting ID: 864 500 9885).

  • December 15
  • December 22

2023

January

Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate applications open

  • Tuesday, January 10

Trusting Your Ideas to Take You Along

Taught by filmmaker and journalist Pamela K. Johnson.


Poet Hours

Stop by to discuss your poems, portfolio, or Youth Poet Laureate application. Held on select Thursdays from 5:00 – 6:00 PM. Meetings are available in person or via Zoom (Zoom Meeting ID: 864 500 9885).

  • January 5
  • January 19
  • January 26
February

Presenting Yourself: Portfolio and CV

Taught by the 2021 Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate Jessica Kim.


Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate applications close

  • Tuesday, Februrary 21

Poet Hours

Stop by to discuss your poems, portfolio, or Youth Poet Laureate application. Held on select Thursdays from 5:00 – 6:00 PM. Meetings are available in person or via Zoom (Zoom Meeting ID: 864 500 9885).

  • February 2
  • February 9
  • February 16
  • February 23
March

Finalists notified

  • Tuesday, March 21

Applications open January 10, 2023 and close February 21, 2023.

Application materials consist of (1) a YPL Application, (2) a Curriculum Vitae, and (3) five complete poems. If selected, the Youth Poet Laureate and Poet Ambassadors must be available to serve for the program year, May 2023–April 2024.

Step 1

Download and fill out the YPL Application (.docx)

Step 2

Review the provided Curriculum Vitae (CV) and Portfolio resources:

Step 3

Email your completed YPL Application, Curriculum Vitae, and Portfolio as three separate documents (as .docx or PDF files) to Kiana.Martin@lbpl.org with the subject line "YPL Application 2023-2024"

Step 4

Wait for notification. Finalists will be notified via email by March 21, 2023.

Good luck!

What will the Youth Poet Laureate and Poet Ambassadors do?

The Youth Poet Laureate and Poet Ambassadors must be available to serve a full program year that begins May 2023 and ends April 2024. Together, the YPL Cohort will plan, execute, and promote a citywide literary initiative that engages youth in art and activism.


Am I eligible to apply?

All applicants must be Long Beach residents between the ages of 13 and 18 as of January 10, 2023, as well as available to serve as Poet Laureate for the program year, May 2023 through April 2024.


When can I apply?

Applications open January 10, 2023 and close February 21, 2023.


What do I need to apply?

To apply for the Youth Poet Laureate program, all you need is a computer and some poems! The application consists of:

  1. YPL Application, which asks for basic information
  2. a Curriculum Vitae, where you'll note your civic and social engagement experience
  3. a portfolio of 5 complete poems.

You can download the application and templates in the "Submitting Your YPL Application" section above. Don't have a computer? Stop by your local LBPL location and use one for free.


Can LBPL help me prepare my application?

Absolutely! From October until the application deadline, the Library will host "Poet Hours" (available in person and via Zoom) on select Thursdays from 5:00 – 6:00 PM. Visit the Program Calendar or LBPL Event Calendar to check when the next session is.


How many Youth Poet Laureates will there be?

Up to 15 finalists will be selected and only 1 will be announced Youth Poet Laureate. Up to 4 runners-up will be named Poet Ambassadors and, together with the Youth Poet Laureate, they will serve as the inaugural Long Beach YPL Cohort.


What do the Youth Poet Laureate and Poet Ambassadors receive?

In addition to a scholarship, the Youth Poet Laureate and Poet Ambassadors will receive the mentorship and resources needed to bring their community projects and vision of Long Beach's future to life.


When do we find out who won?

Finalists will be notified via email by March 21, 2023. The Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate and five Poet Ambassadors will be announced at the Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate commencement ceremony, which will take place on the third week of April. Date and time are TBD.


I have more questions. Who can I contact?

Please contact Kiana Martin at kiana.martin@lbpl.org or Fiorella Casella at fiorella.casella@lbpl.org, or call the Library at (562) 570-6657.

The YPL Program is administered through a collaboration between the Long Beach Public Library and the Arts Council for Long Beach, with support from Urban Word. Funding for this citywide program is provided by the City of Long Beach.

Urban Word.Arts Council for Long Beach.Long Beach Public Library.