Austin will soon have its first Youth Poet Laureate.
The Library Foundation announced today that along with the Austin public Library, it’s joining the National Youth Poet Laureate Program.
The new Austin Youth Poet Laureate program will start taking applications July 1. Austin-area teens ages 13 to 18 can apply at austinlibrary.org/ypl/.
Library Foundation director Tim Staley said that it was Amanda Gorman, who read her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, that inspired the library support group to join the National Youth Poet Laureate Program. Gorman was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017.
“We were so impressed by Amanda Gorman, who is a product of the National Youth Poet Laureate Program’s Los Angeles chapter,” said Library Foundation director Tim Staley. “We found that between the Library Foundation’s close relationship with the Austin Public Library and our Badgerdog creative writing program, the Youth Poet Laureate program would be a great fit for us.”
The winner will be showcased at a celebration this fall at the Austin Public Library and will have the opportunity to publish a chapbook through local press Host Publications.
Austin joins 40 other cities with Youth Poet Laureate programs. Each year one winner from each of the four regions in the country is selected, and the four regional winners will constitute the Youth Poet Laureate finalists, from which the winner of the National Youth Poet Laureate title is chosen
