(New) NYC Youth Poet Laureate Zora Howard

Hey girls! Did you know that New York City has a Youth Poet Laureate? Well, it does and so do you! A month or so ago, I got an email from a group called Urban Word NYC about a competition for the first ever Youth Poet Laureate of New York City; young people were being encouraged to apply and compete for the position.  I immediately got excited. NYC was recognizing the importance of artistic achievement and contribution to this “city of dreams,” especially among the youth is incredible.

A week or so ago, I got another email announcing that 16-year-old Zora Howard had been named Youth Poet Laureate after competing in a Voter Slam at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. According to the press release, 75 young people submitted applications and 12 made it to the finals; Zora was selected as the winner among them.

Go to NBC NY to hear the poem she recited that won her the award.

So you might be asking yourself, what exactly is a poet laureate and what do they do? Both are good questions.  Well, according to wikipedia (that all-knowing, quick information site), a poet laureate is “a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for State occasions and other government events.” Most states have poets laureate- the New York State Poet Laureate is Jean Valentine; some of her poems can be heard  here.  And there is even a poet laureate of the United States; her name is Kay Ryan. It’s quite an honor to be named poet laureate and I’m glad to see poetry getting some respect on the national stage. Do you all remember when poet Elizabeth Alexander read her poem “Praise Song for the Day” at President Obama’s Inauguration back in January ? She was only the fourth poet ever to do so. We’re making progress.

So, congrats to Zora, who’s a student over at LaGuardia High School of Music, Art and the Performing Arts. What will she be doing as Poet Laureate? Well, according to the press release, “Zora Howard will travel our great city over the next year encouraging and engaging younger New Yorkers to be civically involved members of our democratic process.” How dope is that?

Look out for that and keeping writing! Hopefully, we can get an interview with Zora and find out a little bit more about her. Here’s a video of her performing the poem “Bi-racial Hair” at the 2006 Urban Word NYC Annual Teen Poetry Slam, back in ’06.

Also, you should really check out Urban Word NYC, they offer a lot of free writing workshops, classes and performances in the city. It’s a great way to work on your writing, connect with other teen writers and get your name out there.