A slam poet’s rhythmic words or a quiet moment by yourself, immersed in verse, can make you see your city anew. But as screens and short-form content increasingly distract us, it’s rarer to encounter the transformative power of poetry.
When the mayor and officials from the Dallas Public Library designated the first-ever poet laureate and youth poet laureate for the city in 2022, it was a great step for literature in our community. Now, the search is on for Dallas’ second youth poet laureate, a position that has been vacant for a year. We urge young poets who care about our city to apply online before March 1.
In the role, the youth poet laureate will film a promotional video for Express Yourself!, the Dallas Public Library’s annual youth poetry contest, read their poetry publicly and host events to introduce young people to the art form. The youth poet laureate will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
Madison Rojas was the city’s first youth poet laureate and served for a year starting in April 2022. She’s now a freshman at the University of Texas at Austin studying philosophy and economics with a minor in Latin American studies. When she was youth poet laureate, Rojas held poetry workshops at schools, where she helped students annotate poems of various styles and encouraged them write their own verses. She also presented her works at Hispanic Heritage Month events put on by the city’s park and recreation department.
Rojas said that teenagers should consider applying, because the role involved more than just writing poems.
“A big part of it is working within the community … and being able to expose others to beautiful literature that can help change their life the way that it changed yours,” Rojas said.
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