Do you know a high school student who loves to spread the joy and power of words through poetry? Mendocino Poets in the Schools is accepting applications for the honorary role of Mendocino County Youth Poet Laureate until January 1, 2024 (original deadline was extended). Applications and details are available here.
This opportunity is designed to honor visionary young writers and leaders, between the ages of 13-19, who are committed to making an impact through community engagement, using the power of their written and spoken words.
Mendocino County’s Youth Poet Laureate inspires the public and kindles a love for the literary arts and humanities throughout Mendocino County. The Youth Poet Laureate will be an emerging poet that exemplifies and celebrates the rich diversity and innovative spirit of all Mendocino County youth.
The Mendocino County Youth Poet Laureate serves a one-year term and actively engages in political and cultural conversations of their time within various spaces, including ceremonial, educational, and cultural events. In addition, they receive an honorarium of five hundred dollars, publication in a national youth anthology, and a professionally published book of their own poetry, a chapbook.
Outgoing Youth Poet Laureate Sidney Regelbrugge, now a senior at Point Arena High School, just released her first poetry collection under this program titled “Questions Asked in the Midst of Midnight.” More information about Regelbrugge’s chapbook can be found here.
Mendocino County Poets in the Schools joins several national and California county-based programs in honoring and promoting student poets. The Mendocino County program is organized by California Poets in the Schools and supported by the Bill Graham Supporting Foundation, with additional support locally from the Arts Council of Mendocino County and the Mendocino County Office of Education.
California Poets in the Schools, a non-profit founded in 1964, is one of the nation’s largest literary Artists-in-the-Schools programs. Over one hundred trained, professional poet-teachers deliver poetry lessons throughout California to students in K-12 classrooms, children’s homes, youth detention centers, and hospitals. Students are empowered to express their creativity, emotion, and intellectual curiosity through writing, performing and publishing their own poetry.