SAL/ON

A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures

Category: Youth Poet Laureate

Are You the Next Seattle Youth Poet Laureate?

Attention all young poets, rappers, leaders, and activists, ages 14-19 and living in Seattle and the greater Puget Sound region! Are you interested in representing the city as the 2018/19 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate? WITS is now accepting applications for this year’s Youth Poet Laureate, which will be open from March 23 – April 23, 2018. […]

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“Mom,” by Namaka Auwae-Dekker

Mom, Today I was followed by every man who’s ever left us (again) Which is to say ghosts are hereditary Which is to ask who will my children carry in the echo of their ribcage? How much of me is in what is not here, How much of me is in what did not stay? […]

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“Emotionless Thoughts,” by Amr Awaad

Emotionless Thoughts Rhyming is my nature and words are my dreams Because everything I say doesn’t look but it sees The future’s right in front of us but people are blinded By the harsh facts, so they always try to hide it

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“Fruit Stand,” by Lily Baumgart

Fruit Stand Carve red into me, use your whole arms to entangle my body. I want to feel protected and warm, blue-warm like a star nearing expansion. I’ve been told I’m not humbled enough. I want you to hold me; my knees have failed and gone somewhere else. You allow yourself to let me fall […]

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“Black Courage” by Maven Gardner

Black Courage There are wolves in wolves clothing Telling the weak That the sheep are the ones to fear, You are that sheep baby boy. Courage runs in your blood, So you will be tapped into. We live in a world where the authority Shoots patterns into unarmed citizens We live with crisp folds in […]

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Lily Baumgaurt, at a WITS summer camp class, smiles while paused mid-writing, young writers in the background.

What’s It Like Being Youth Poet Laureate, Anyway?

By: Lily Baumgart, 2017-18 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate Simple answer: amazing. When I was announced as the 2017/18 Youth Poet Laureate, I was in shock. My uncle had taken a video of Matt Gano announcing the winner and for days afterwards I’d watch that video over and over, making sure that it was my name […]

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“You Do Not Have To Be The Moon,” by Emrys Foster

You Do Not Have To Be The Moon You do not have to be the moon. You do not have to follow the sun always in its footsteps you do not have to take fleeting breaths of cold clear nothing through deep craters like gills you do not have to shed a light on those […]

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