2025 local & state youth poet laureates
Victoria Bogatz - 2025-26 Nebraska Youth Poet Laureate
Read Candlelit Nights
Victoria Bogatz is an eighteen-year-old environmental activist, student journalist, and the current Nebraska Youth Poet Laureate. Her work has been honored by the Nebraska Scholastic Writing Awards, the Opera Omaha Poetry & Music Project, and the Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Contest, among others. She aims to use writing as a way to connect people from all backgrounds and initiate change. When not writing, she enjoys running, petting her dog, and planning environmental revolutions.
Dillon Cain - 2025 Kentucky Youth Poet Laureate Runner Up
Read A Klondike Bar
Dillon Cain is a first-year student at Dartmouth College and a 2025 Kentucky Youth Poet Laureate Runner Up whose work bridges writing, photography, and civic service. He is a published poet, photographer, and media business owner with several accolades such as a Scholastic Gold Key. Through service with the YMCA, LINKnky News, Kentucky state communications, and local nonprofits, Cain's work reflects his deep commitment to creative leadership and community impact.
David Davenport - 2025 Virginia Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador
David Davenport is the 2025 Virginia Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador whose work has appeared in Bossy Girl Magazine and the Pulitzer Center Update. He is currently studying Biological Engineering at the illustrious NC A&T and holds the 1st place title for the Young Ink Writing Challenge. When not writing at the Muse Center or volunteering at the college farm, you can find him reading or donating his time to the unhoused via Project H.O.P.E.
Eden S. Gonzalez - 2025 Long Beach Youth Poet Ambassador
Read wings of the free
Eden S. Gonzalez is a poet and writer based in Long Beach, although she loves to travel the world. She’s a Long Beach Youth Poet Ambassador, as well as a Poetic Film Club Alumnus. Her work has been recognized nationally and published in The Echo Teen Lit Mag, Poetry In Motion Zine, and more.
Robin Linden - 2025 Youth Poetry Ambassador of Rhode Island
Read Slip
Robin Linden is the 2025 Youth Poetry Ambassador of Rhode Island. Her work has been published in The Daphne Review and the Providence Eye, with forthcoming pieces in Apprentice Writer and Literally Stories. When not writing or reading, she can be found taking a long walk, dreaming about Sudoku, or laughing loudly.
Violet Rae Paean - 2025 Nashville Youth Poet Laureate
Violet Rae Hansen (also known by the pen as Rae Paean) is the 2025 Nashville Youth Poet Laureate through Southern Word. She a student of Hume-Fogg High School's class of 2026 and plans to major in Criminology in the fall. Violet Rae believes that their calling in life is to spread love, which she does through poetic advocacy and STEAM research!
Emma Paris - 2025-2026 Vermont Youth Poet Laureate
Read Lonesome George, Booming Ben, and Orange Band All Walk Into a Bar
Emma Paris is Vermont’s 2025 Youth Poet Laureate, she is an undergraduate at Bennington College, studying Poetry and Environmental Science. Her work has been recognized by Adroit Prizes in Poetry and Prose, Scholastic Art and Writing Awards: American Voices Nomination, and she has been recently nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Emma is a devoted environmentalist, her current fixation is gray wolf restoration and protection.
Tara Prakash - 2025 National Youth Poet Laureate Runner-Up, Inaugural Youth Poet Laureate of Maryland
Read They say getting old is not for sissies
Tara Prakash is the 2025 National Youth Poet Laureate Runner-Up and the inaugural Youth Poet Laureate of Maryland. Her work has been recognized in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards (where she received National Gold and National Silver Medals), National YoungArts Foundation, and the New York Times. Her work has appeared in Best American, The Lumiere Review, and The Daphne Review, among others, and you can learn more about her at taraprakashwrites.com.
Charlotte Richardson - 2025 Los Angeles County Youth Poet Ambassador and Laureate Finalist
Read in the marrow of my bones
Charlotte Richardson is a 2025 Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador, a program supported by Urban Word. She is currently a high school sophomore and recently received three regional awards from the Scholastic Writing Awards. You can often find her furiously typing, sewing, or volunteering at nonprofits.
Rebecca Yang - 2025 LA County Youth Poet Laureate Runner Up
Read Joy rooting itself in my stomach
Rebecca Yang is the 2025 LA County Youth Poet Laureate Runner Up, a WriteGirl mentee, and Get Lit Player. Beyond her city, she is passionate about advocating for educational rights on a state-wide level and drafting student-driven AI policies. In her free time, she works to expand Read to Respond, her international literacy organization, and plays piano for a local choir.
Lylah Zeitlin - 2025 Vermont Youth Poet Laureate Runner Up
Read Nervous Girls and Other Winged Creatures
Lylah Zeitlin is the Vermont Youth Poet Laureate Runner Up. She cares deeply for feminist, constitutional, and environmental causes. She is a scrappy, hot-headed, worshiper of our New Colossus. If she had to believe in only one thing, it would be love every single time.
Chelsea Zhu - 2025 Maryland Youth Poet Laureate
Read Bon Voyage
Chelsea Zhu is the 2025 Maryland Youth Poet Laureate, a program supported by Urban Word. She's a firm believer of how poetry and artivism can advocate for environmental justice and sustainable communities. Her work appears in South Carolina Review.