Art
Applications Being Accepted for Oakland’s Youth Poet Laureate Contest
OAKLAND POST — Oakland’s Youth Poet Laureate program is a citywide effort to celebrate literacy through poetry and connect young writers to far-reaching opportunities.
By The Oakland Post
Oakland’s Youth Poet Laureate program is a citywide effort to celebrate literacy through poetry and connect young writers to far-reaching opportunities.
Each year the program accept submissions from talented Oakland writers (ages 13-18) to be considered for the city’s top literary honor. The Laureate earns an educational scholarship and embarks on a year of opportunities as an ambassador for literacy, arts and youth expression.
The program is supported by an alliance of community partners representing Oakland’s leading arts, education and community organizations. Scholarship funding is provided by the Friends of the Oakland Public Library. Scholarship administration and academic support is provided by ScholarMatch.
Community Partners: Write-to-Read and Alameda County Library, Chapter 510, and the Oakland Museum of California with support from Urban Word.
Applications for the 2019 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate contest will be open until Monday, Feb. 4.
To enter, applicants must:
- Be an Oakland resident
- Be between the ages of 13 and 18 as of Feb. 4, 2019
- Be available to serve as Laureate for the program year, June 2019 – June 2020
- Be living locally through the program year
- Not be enrolled in college full-time during the program year
Poems will be judged based on Content, Craft, and Voice. If you are advanced to the Final round, applications will be additionally judged on Leadership and Performance.
This article originally appeared in the Oakland Post.
