Oakland teens can apply to be the city’s 2024 youth poet laureate (2024)

Oakland is searching for its next youth poet laureate—a teenager who loves creative writing and performing and who will represent The Town at community events.

From now until Feb. 5, Oakland youth ages 13 to 18 can apply for the one-year position. The laureate receives a $5,000 scholarship and all of the laureate finalists—those who make it to the final round of judging—will receive $500 prizes. The application can be completed online.

The 2023 youth poet laureate, Nairobi Barnes, is studying film and television at Merritt College and plans to transfer soon to a four-year university. Barnes, who began writing at an early age, uses her poetry to express her emotions, which she said can at times be difficult to do verbally. She said she writes about her experiences as a Black woman and reminisces on her childhood.

“Sometimes I would write TV shows and things of that nature to kind of escape my own reality when I was in middle school,” she told The Oaklandside. “A lot of times, the main character was an awkward Black girl who loved poetry, so it was very much me projecting myself into a different reality.

Barnes sees her role as that of a “traveling poet.” Over the last six months, she’s visited schools to teach children about poetry, performed at festivals, and she always showcases her appreciation for the Oakland Public Library.

“I want to encourage people to apply to the program. I also want to encourage kids especially to go to their local libraries, go to the main library and enjoy the teen zone and all the activities there,” she said. “That’s where I grew up.”

She was at her local library, the Dimond branch, when she first learned about the poet laureate opportunity. A librarian had dropped a flyer about the program onto the table where Barnes was doing homework. At the time, Barnes had slowed down her poetry writing and thought applying might be a way to get back into it.

The application process includes submitting previous pieces, so Barnes asked her brother to pick out three of her poems to submit. One of the pieces he chose is called “Let Me Be Angry.”

The poem begins with questions: “Where do stereotypes of a Black woman begin? Does it come from the womb? Does it come from a classroom? Does it come from church?”

Being part of a community of young poets is one of the most rewarding aspects of the program, said Maya Raveneau-Bey, one of the youth laureate finalists. Raveneau-Bey enjoys performing spoken word and attends Oakland School for the Arts.

“One thing that’s super important for me is being around people who will push me to do better,” she said. “Now since I have this community where I’m surrounded by people who love what I like to do and are really good and push me to do well, it’s healthy and revitalizing.”

Raveneau-Bey has seen her skills improve since joining the program. She especially likes performing her pieces and appreciates the opportunities she gets through bookings as one of the laureate finalists. One of her favorite pieces to perform is called “My Mother Told Me.”

“It talks about how Black lives are affected in America, and growing up as a Black child with a mother who made sure that I knew how to act, what the rules were, and what my mother told me to survive and stay safe,” she said. “I feel like this is really good for spoken word because it’s definitely thought-provoking and I love my work to be thought provoking.”

Teenagers can apply for themselves, or teachers and others who work with youth can also submit an application on behalf of a young person. In the first round of judging, submissions will be scored anonymously based on content, craft, and voice. The highest-scoring applicants move on to the second round, where they’ll be judged on performance and leadership based on the other parts of their application, including letters of support, an artist statement, community service and awards, and a reading and interview with the judges. The person who scores the highest after both rounds will be the poet laureate, and anyone who makes it to the second round will be a finalist.

Barnes has some advice for those who may be apprehensive about applying.

“Don’t think of it as Shakespeare is still alive and there’s only certain forms of poetry you can write,” she said. “We have so many gifted poets who are queer, people of color, who defy norms every day. You can be part of that big community of people who want to be different and seen and heard.”