2023 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate

Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Award Ceremony

Beast Crawl Squad had a fabulous time at the Oakland Youth Poet Laureate (OYPL) Award Ceremony Friday night! The full house and all the energy were incredible. We were so inspired by all the talented poets who performed.

We would like to congratulate the new OYPL for 2023 Nairobi Barnes, Vice Laureate Michelle Vong and all the OYPL candidates and runners up. They are brilliant and will go far! We also want to thank the Oakland Public Library and OYPL Program for providing a platform for young poets to share their voices.

The Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Program is a year-long program that provides young poets with the opportunity to develop their craft, perform their work, and serve as ambassadors for poetry in Oakland. The program culminates in a public awards ceremony, where the Oakland Youth Poet Laureate is announced.

Paul Corman-Roberts, Co-Founder and Director of Operations at Beast Crawl Literary Festival was selected to serve as one of the judges. He says “We are so proud to be a part of the Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Program. It has been an incredible experience to learn from and collaborate with other poets, and to share our work with the community. We are excited to see what the future holds for the program and for all the young poets who participate.”

Thank you to everyone at the Oakland Public Library who made the Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Award Ceremony possible!
https://oaklandlibrary.org/oakland-youth-poet-laureate/
https://oaklandlibrary.org/oakland-youth-poet-laureate/meet-the-oypl-poets/