Mayor Wu Announces Call for Boston’s Next Youth Poet Laureate
Mayor Michelle Wu and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture today announced the City of Boston is seeking applications for its next Boston Youth Poet Laureate (BYPL). The program, created in partnership with national and local youth literary organizations—including the Boston Public Library, the Fine Arts Work Center, GrubStreet, Mass Poetry, 826 Boston, and Urban Word—celebrates the power of poetry to elevate youth voices and engage communities across Boston.
“The Youth Poet Laureate will serve as a symbol of creative and social impact, inspiring our communities through poetry, exploration of identity, and hope,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. We’re excited to announce the call for the next Youth Poet Laureate and look forward to using this opportunity to foster connection and empowerment for our young creative leaders.”
The Boston Youth Poet Laureate is a ceremonial position with a two-year term, beginning in January 2026 and concluding in January 2028. During this time, the laureate will work in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture to develop inclusive and accessible programming that brings poetry to residents of all ages
As a literary ambassador for Boston’s youth, the Boston Youth Poet performs at civic events, leads public workshops and readings, visits schools and libraries, and collaborates with Boston’s current Poet Laureate, Emmanuel Oppong-Yeboah, on events and programming. In addition to public engagements, the BYPL will develop and lead a signature project that uses poetry to uplift and connect young people across Boston.
“In my career as a teaching artist I’ve been continually impressed by what young people can accomplish when given the resources, opportunities, and permission to create,” said Emmanuel Oppong-Yeboah, Boston’s Poet Laureate. “I am super excited to work alongside Boston’s next Youth Poet Laureate, to see what their vision is for how the city of Boston could be a more vibrant place for young people, and the arts, and to help grow that vision into a reality.”
The current Youth Poet Laureate, Parker-Vincent Alva, a student and writer from Roslindale, has held the position since 2024. During his tenure, Parker released a chapbook, “Carnivores,” was featured in numerous workshops, readings, and appearances at the Boston Public Library, Greater Roxbury Book Fair, Grub Street Literary Center, “If You Feel It Speak It” poetry series, Boston Book Festival, the Museum of Fine Arts, and more. Parker served nationally as part of Mass Poetry’s Brave Voices Youth Slam Team and was a Summer Scholar at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown.
