Introducing: The Austin Youth Poet Laureate Program

The Austin Youth Poet Laureate program has landed in Austin! We here at Host Publications are thrilled to partner with the Library Foundation and the National Youth Poet Laureate Program led by Urban Word, with additional support from the Austin Public Library, Creative Learning Initiative, and Learn All The Time. 

In this episode, we discuss the details of this exciting new program for young writers in Austin, and all of the benefits that it offers them, for their writing, their confidence, and for their engagement with their communities. 

We had the opportunity to speak with the inaugural Teaching Artists who ran the application workshops this year, to hear about their experiences in the workshops and to get a better sense of what this program will offer young writers in Austin. 

 

We spoke with Bianca Perez: (she/her) Bianca was born and raised in Mission, Texas – a small southern town bordering Mexico. She is currently an MFA Poetry candidate at Texas State University. Her poems have been published in The New York Quarterly, Re-side Magazine, Magma Poetry UK, ReclamationATX, Psst! Press’ The Sappho Diaries, and East French Press. Forthcoming in The Ice Colony Anthology. She is also the co-host of a horror podcast with writer Stephanie Grossman. Her poetry centers on her Latin culture, spirituality, family, and womanhood.

We also spoke with Steven Espada Dawson: (he/him) is a writer from East Los Angeles, currently working out of Austin. The son of a Mexican immigrant, he holds an MFA in poetry from Purdue University. He has served as poetry editor for Sycamore Review and Copper Nickel. Winner of the Barriss and Iola Mills Award and the Kneale Award, his poems have appeared recently or are forthcoming in The Adroit Journal, Best New Poets 2020, Colorado Review, Copper Nickel, Gulf Coast, Hobart, Kenyon Review Online, Split Lip Magazine, and Waxwing, among other journals.

 

We want to encourage any and all interested folks to apply for the Youth Poet Laureate position this year by Sunday, August 15, 2021, at 11:59pm, or to take the Application Workshops next year for a fully immersive creative experience. Head on over to the Library Foundation's website for more information on how to apply, and follow Library Foundation ATX and Host Publications on social media for updates on deadlines, the inaugural winner, readings and the forthcoming chapbook!