Join SAL for the release of LOVELIKE, a debut collection of poetry by the 2022/23 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate, Sah Pham! Published by Poetry NW Editions, LOVELIKE is the eighth in SAL’s series of Seattle Youth Poet Laureate books.
Sah will read from her new book alongside three 2022/23 Youth Poetry Fellows at Third Place Books Seward Park. At the reading, there will be a ceremonial passing of the laurel to Mateo Acuña, who is the incoming 2023/24 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate. We will also welcome and celebrate the nine other 2023/24 fellows. This event is free and open to the public.
Sah Pham has served as the Seattle Youth Poet Laureate since the spring of 2022, and in that time has performed her original poetry at numerous events across the Puget Sound region in addition to writing her book. Youth Poetry Fellowship Mentors, Arianne True and Sasha LaPointe, supported Pham through the process of writing and publishing by drawing on their own experiences as professional poets.
Sah, also known as Sarah Pham, is a Vietnamese American Canadian writer and creative. Her poetry has been featured in Seattle’s Child, KUOW 1340 AM Radio, and The University of Washington’s The Monologues. She is the founder and host of Poemcast, a poetry podcast at The Daily UW. She has served as Youth Ambassador for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Advanced Producer at RadioActive Youth Media, and Corbett Scholar at the University of British Columbia. She is an alumna of the University of Washington.
Mateo Acuña (he/him) is a Peruvian-American artist, composer, and writer from Auburn, Washington. He is the 2023/24 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate. He is currently a sophomore at Pacific Lutheran University pursuing a customized major in Art, Communications, English, Music and Theater. He writes across the mediums of creative nonfiction, fiction and poetry, as well as for stage and screen. As the Seattle Youth Poet Laureate, his focus will be on making poetry more accessible in education and using his platform to spread beauty, love, and raise awareness of the Latino and transgender experience.