Santa Cruz County Libraries and Urban Word launched the inaugural 2024 Youth Poet Laureate (YPL) naming Dina Lustzig as winner, in company with the Finalists, Simon Ellefson, Sylvi Kayser, Greg Souza, and Madeline Aliah. Dina’s tenure ends in April, when the 2025 Youth Poet Laureate and Finalists will be celebrated at Semper Hall at Cabrillo College. The website will have more information. (https://sites.google.com/view/santa-cruz-youth-poet-laureate/)

 

Writers of Color (WOC) supports youth poets, as the program was developed and managed by one of our WOC members and 2024 Santa Cruz Poet Laureate, Farnaz Fatemi. Madeline Aliah, a Finalist and regular participant at Satori Arts, is also a WOC member and published author, This is My Body, her debut chapbook.

 

Their diverse perspectives reflect an authenticity in their poetry, as teens trying to find their voice. As a poet, I find this exciting to hear and experience during the public readings. As teens, once upon a time, many of us have struggled to find that path to describe our frustrations, passions, and aspirations.

 

It’s with extreme honor for WOC to host these young voices on Feb 25, to listen to their poems, as they bring their stories forward. Perhaps Dina’s statement captures this most, “I found that poetry was cathartic, it was a place I could express my own thoughts, clearly in ways not available to me through other mediums.”