Cincinnati Youth Poet Laureate
The Cincinnati Youth Poet Laureate program invites Cincinnati-area youth ages 14 - 18 to pursue this literary competition and leadership opportunity that celebrates community service through poetry, performance, and social justice.
The Cincinnati Youth Poet Laureate (Cincy YPL) Program is a creative writing and civic engagement out-of-school competition that aims to identify youth writers and leaders committed to community service through poetry, performance, and social justice. This literary competition is a national initiative powered by local education and literary organizations across the country.
Cincy YPL is hosted by WordPlay Cincy with several community partners and leaders, including The City of Cincinnati, The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, University of Cincinnati's Elliston Poetry Room, and Cincinnati's Adult Poet Laureate Program.
Previous National YPL recipients include Amanda Gorman, Alexandra Huynh, & many talented youth.
To learn more about the National Youth Poet Laureate program, visit: https://www.youthlaureate.org/
Prizes for the Youth Poet Laureate include but are not limited to:
$1000 scholarship
One-on-one mentoring sessions & public performances
Reading & speaking engagements across the city, including at the Elliston Poetry Room, University of Cincinnati & The Public Library May 2023-April 2024
A quality chapbook publishing opportunity
To apply, be prepared to submit the following items:
Four written original poems (Word Docx or PDF files only)
One video of a poetry reading (3:30 minutes maximum in length).
Please note that any style of reading is welcome! Cell phone videos are accepted.
*Brag Sheet (2-3 paragraphs).
*What is a Brag Sheet?
A Brag Sheet provides the opportunity for you to share who you are in narrative form. A successful Brag Sheet should include the following:
Your background and accomplishments
Your response to the following question: Being a Youth Poet Laureate means you are committed to artistic excellence, civic engagement, leadership, and social impact. It means that you're writing poetry for a greater, civic purpose. Knowing this, why do you want to be Cincy's YPL?
The program is open to all Greater Cincinnati-area youth ages 14 - 18.
Follow the “Apply Here” button below to apply online.
We recommend a parent/guardian assist you with submitting application materials.
If you are submitting your application via email, please remember to include your contact information, in addition to your application materials (poems, video, and brag sheet).
For inquiries or application support, contact youthpoet@wordplaycincy.org
