Announcing Milwaukee’s first Youth Poet Laureate competition

The inaugural Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate (MYPL) competition will take place on Saturday April 15, 2023, from 2-4 PM at the Milwaukee Public Library Centennial Hall’s Loos Room (733 N. 8th St.). The event is free and open to all, and members of the public are encouraged to attend.

The MYPL competition is affiliated with the National Youth Poet Laureate program in collaboration with Urban Word NYC. The program identifies, celebrates, and honors teen poets who exhibit a commitment to not just artistic excellence but also civic engagement, youth leadership, and social justice.

This year’s event will feature three Milwaukee County juniors: Mabel Ciepluch from Rufus King High School, Jonah Denae from Milwaukee High School of the Arts, and Emily Igwike from University School of Milwaukee. In addition to opportunities to perform around the city and to compete at regional and national levels, Milwaukee’s first Youth Poet Laureate will receive a $500 scholarship, a week-long mentorship with former Youth Poet Laureate Michaela Lacy (Prince George’s County, Maryland, 2018), and support from Woodland Pattern throughout the laureateship, which will run through the student’s senior year.

The event will be emceed by Dasha Kelly Hamilton and the program will include performances by former Youth Poets Laureate Crystal Valentine (NYC, 2015) and Michaela Lacy. Judges for this year’s competition include Milwaukee Poet Laureate Mario Willis, Milwaukee Film / Cine Sin Fronteras Program Ambassador Adilene Quezada, La Revo Books Co-Founder Barbara Cerda, and poet and PhD candidate in Creative Writing at UW-Milwaukee Angela Voras-Hills.

In addition to Woodland Pattern and 2020–22 Wisconsin Poet Laureate Dasha Kelly Hamilton, other core partners for the Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate program include Milwaukee Public Library, UWM Writing Project, and the UWM Graduate Program in Creative Writing.

To learn more, visit https://woodlandpattern.org/youthpoetlaureate

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.