2021 National Youth Poet Laureate Virtual Ceremony May 20

2021 National Youth Poet Laureate  Virtual Ceremony to be Hosted by Urban Word and The Kennedy Center 

Faye Harrison, the Ann Arbor/ Ypsi Youth Poet Laureate is in the running to become the next National Youth Poet Laureate. You can join in to see Faye compete in the virtual National Youth Poet Laureate Commencement Ceremony on May 20, 2021 at 7pm EST hosted by Urban Word in partnership with The Kennedy Center. Tickets are free and are available at youthlaureate.org/2021. 

“We are so proud of Faye and to have Neutral Zone as part of our National Youth Poet Laureate Network,” said Michael Cirelli, National Youth Poet Laureate program founder. “ For the fifth year, these brilliant young voices will share their words and talents with a global audience, this time on The Kennedy Center’s virtual stage. We eagerly anticipate this national gathering of the literary arts community and the announcement of who our next National Youth Poet Laureate will be.” 

Judges for this year’s National Youth Poet Laureate finals include Juan Felipe Herrera, former U.S. Poet Laureate; Nikay Parades, Senior Programs Manager, Academy of American Poets; Rob Caper, Poetry Director, Library of Congress; Dr. Yolanda Sealy-Ruiz, poet and professor at Columbia University; SJ Miller, Associate Professor of Teacher Education; and Aileen Cassinetto, San Mateo County Poet Laureate. 

More information about the 2021 National Youth Poet Laureate Commencement can be found at youthlaureate.org/2021. Media requests for interviews and assets can be made to ayofemi@itseleventhirtysix.com.   

Photos of the National Youth Poet Laureate finalists can be found here. The 2021 National Youth Poet Laureate finalist bios are below: 

Faye Harrison, Midwest Region, Ann Arbor, MI 

Ann Arbor born and raised, Faye Harrison (they/them) is a queer 19-year-old leader, activist, and writer. Faye is the 2021 Midwest Regional Poetry Ambassador & Finalist for the 2021 National Youth Poet Laureate Program founded by Urban Word NYC, the 2020/2021 Ann Arbor Youth Poet Laureate, and the 2018 Ann Arbor Youth Slam Champ. A former high school dropout, recovering alcoholic and sexual assault survivor, Faye engages in arts advocacy work inspired by these issues. 

Alexandra Huynh, West Region, Sacramento, CA 

Alexandra Huynh (she/her) is an 18-year old Vietnamese American poet from Sacramento, CA. She is one of Sacramento’s 2020 Youth Poet Laureates and is a finalist for the 2021 National Youth Poet Laureate Competition, as the Western Regional Ambassador for the United States. As a second generation individual, Alexandra employs poetry as a tool of self-reclamation and social justice for marginalized communities. This fall, she will be a freshman at Stanford University where she aims to combine her passions for creative writing, science, and civic engagement. 

Serena Yang, Northeast Region, Queens, New York  

Born in Singapore and raised in Queens, New York, Serena Yang (she/her) is a poet, writer, and first-generation Chinese American immigrant. She believes that imagination and storytelling is critical to justice work and writes, always, with the knowledge that a better world is possible. Serena is the 2021 NYC Youth Poet Laureate and a National Youth Poet Laureate finalist representing the Northeast. 

Alora Young, South Region, Southern United States 

Alora Young (she/her) is the Youth Poet Laureate of the Southern United States. She is a two 

time TEDx Speaker, a scholastic gold medalist, a Young arts winner in spoken word, a recipient of the Princeton Prize in Race Relations, Spring Robinson literary prize, the Lin Arison excellence in writing award, and the International Human Rights Day rising advocate award. She is the founder of AboveGround, an organization seeking to create equity in Nashville elementary schools through creative writing and Black history. She has publications in or upcoming in the New York Times, Rattle, Washington Post, Signal Mountain Review, Rigorous Mag, and Ice Colony Journal she has wanted to be a poet since the age of 2 and hopes to one day be the world’s greatest grandma/supreme court justice. 

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About The National Youth Poet Laureate Program   
The National Youth Poet Laureate Program, an initiative of Urban Word, celebrates our nation’s top poets who are committed to artistic excellence, civic engagement and social impact. Founded in New York City in 2008, the Youth Poet Laureate Program partners with local and national literary arts organizations across the country to elevate youth voices at the forefront of social change. Program partners and supporters include the Academy of American Poets, the Library of Congress, the Poetry Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Youth Poets Laureate have touched every media outlet and major stage in the country including at the White House and on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.  To learn more about our work or to start a program in your region, please visit youthlaureate.org.   

About Urban Word    
Urban Word elevates youth voices as leaders at the intersection of the literary arts and civic engagement. Through the transformative power of the written and spoken word, Urban Word provides young, creative voices, often those that are marginalized, the tools, training, and platforms to rewrite the narratives that shape their lives and to own their agency in directing the future of their communities.​ As one of the oldest and most comprehensive youth literary arts organizations in the United States, Urban Word and its national community of poets, activists, and educators, has built and continues to lead the youth spoken word movement. Learn more at urbanword.org.