2023 local & state youth poet laureates
Liam "Lee" Balmeo - 2023-2024 Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador, 2024-2025 Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador
Read horticulture - a markov sonnet
Liam "Lee" Balmeo (they/them) is an award-winning youth poet and multidisciplinary artist based in Long Beach, California, focused on the principles of intersectionality in the form of activism poetry. Through an experimental style and approach to poetics, Lee has been recognized by Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, YoungArts, The Poetry Society, and received a 2026 Best of the Net Nomination. They also served as a 2023-2024 Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador and a 2024-2025 Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador, among other accolades.
Elani Spencer - 2023 Roanoke Youth Poet Laureate
Elani Spencer is Roanoke, Virginia’s first Youth Poet Laureate. She is a rising senior at Hollins University where she is pursuing a B.A. in English & Creative Writing. She has worked with the Smithsonian, the Artemis Journal, and her work has been recognized by Scholastic Publishing.