Developing The Next Youth Poet Laureate

Most have heard of a Poet Laureate and even a Youth Poet Laureate. But what about the education behind the Youth Poet Laureate?

Patrick Washington is the founder of DIALECT of Prince George’s County, an LLC and Youth Poet Laureate program. Over the last six years, Patrick has built a program that helps young poets (ages 13 to 19) express themselves, learn accountability, and create healing. It also guides young poets in potentially becoming the Youth Poet Laureate of Prince George’s County.

As Simon Sinek says, let’s start with why.

Three of Patrick’s reasons for why he does this stood out to be:

1. “I just want them to learn the power of their voice.”

2. “The idea of a laureate doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re greater or better than anybody else. It adds an air of importance to the idea of poetry. When the laureate gets to shine, we all get to shine.”

3. “All you have to offer is yourself and your art. This isn’t even an artistic thing. It’s a human thing. You don’t have to be an artist to volunteer.”

What does a Youth Poet Laureate program look like?

Over the years, it was a lot of trial and error for Patrick. But he found what works and what doesn’t and has created a strong program.

In addition to mechanics, DIALECT is a program that prepares young poets to value their art and prepare themselves as a business. He makes it clear that people who don’t view you as an artisan, are not worth the time. 

It’s a program that helps youth gain confidence in what kinds of offers they’ll accept as well as how to succinctly say what they do and offer as an artist. 

It also shows young poets how they can find their lane in their art.

“We are teaching leadership mechanics and helping [young poets] better their activism and expression. Like, where are you in terms of activism: are you a litigator or are you a teacher or a reporter? Are you a collector of information or the advocate? There is a role for everybody. They use those skills in interviews, for a public speaking course, or for gigs or internships.” 

Patrick says his role is to “guide them in their creation, help them stay on track and keep focused.” 

What specifically does that look like though?

• Writing prompts to keep creating

• Creating electronic press kits (EPKs)

• Identifying their representatives and writing a letter to them (or anyone they want to contact)

• Teaching them how to approach officials

• Teaching them to be bold in their art

What can an individual poet do to make a difference?

According to Patrick, there are a few things poets can do to leave an impact in their communities.

1. Find out who your representatives are (council people, state reps, etc.) and reach out to them. You don’t have to be a poetry ambassador. These people work for you, and you’re supposed to let them know what you need. It’s a quick Google search with your ZIP code, and you’ll get their contact information. 

2. Send them a letter or poem saying “Hey, this is how I feel about A, B, and C.” Let them know in the way that makes you comfortable. If there’s an issue you feel strongly about, look them up. 

3. Ask them how you can meet them or if they need a poem to help promote something. 

His biggest tip, though? Be original. Be yourself. 

We’ll leave you with this final thought from Patrick about the Youth Poet Laureates he’s had the joy of working with. Because when something ends, it doesn’t really end. It’s a part of you and who you are.

“I remind them that once you're a poet laureate, you’re always a poet laureate.”

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Since the birth of his son in 2001, DIALECT Founder Patrick Washington has dedicated his energies to educating and inspiring the youth, first as an apprentice of the award winning Gayle Danley & Twain Dooley for several years and then working as a teaching artist for several organizations.

Learn all about DIALECT.

Changing Lives With Poetry In The Classroom

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I’m not sure how to greet you.

So I look at your wet-grass stained shoes.

Then back at your 17-year-old face.

And I say,

“Come in. Get out of the rain.”

— Joseph Ross

It starts with a literature class.

That class could be the first time someone realizes the value of their own perspective or the emotional depth of history. An American literature class may be the first time some students read a Black author or the first time they ever see a white teacher praising a Black author.

What helps turn that classroom into a truly safe space for societal education and personal growth? Supportive coaches and a positive school culture, for one. And most importantly, a teacher who acts in an honestly inclusive way.

Enter: Mr. Joseph Ross from the English Department of Gonzaga College High School.

Joseph is a poet himself and because of his efforts, his school has welcomed poetry into all kinds of places. 

“I insisted that at a Black History Month assembly, we had to have students reading a book. That became the first place that the whole school at once saw this amazing thing. A couple of years later, every issue of the school newspaper asked the club to have a poem in it. We can slowly build that stuff. I joke that once we have a poem at every graduation, my takeover will be complete.”

Poetry education makes history more real

A history teacher at Gonzaga did a research project with students at the Georgetown archives about Gonzaga’s history with slavery, and they discovered names of people who worked at Gonzaga as enslaved people. 

Joseph says, “We were all stunned when all of a sudden we had a name. The poets couldn’t shake that. They were talking about writing about it, and pretty soon, we put together a chapbook of poems called ‘Garden: Gonzaga Poets Respond to the Slavery Research Project.’”

The combination of a history research project and poetry response project is something that will sit deep with the students and make it that much more real for them.

“Poets watch everything. They watched it last summer as high school students. They’re not blind. They see it all and feel a need to write about it. They’re looking at the world around them and filtering it through their art, which is the highest thing we can ask of them.”

How Frederick Douglass leads to impactful moments

Reading “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” in class has led Joseph to quite a few impactful moments. 

Two of which include: 

All the kids were packing up and heading out of the room, and one student was just sitting at his desk. Joseph looked over and asked if he was doing alright. The student looked up and said, “I have just never seen words do this before.”

Another moment was after reading a particularly horrible section from the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass — about essentially watching his grandmother being sent off to starve to death — and again, the students were packing up and walking out. This one quiet kid was still sitting at his desk. He looked up at me and said, “It was that bad, wasn’t it?” He was processing that on an emotional level, which is what poetry does.”

Joseph says, “You have these little moments because of good writing that pierces something and all of a sudden they feel something, and they understand it in a new way. And they think, ‘I can express myself like this. And I need to express myself like this.’ Both black students saying it about various injustices and white students saying they need to speak up about this. White students have to speak up and carry this too.”

The power of the English classroom

Joseph says it best:

“The English classroom can be a transformative place. People change in there because of the things they’ve read and the things they write. It’s a place where students meet writers who have tried to make sense of their world through beauty, by writing a beautiful story, essay, or poem. And slowly over the course of an academic year, they see this string of American writers who have looked at their world and made sense of it through an art form. It changes us to be in the middle of that.”

But how do you create that atmosphere in the classroom? By spending the right amount of time on the right amount of topics. The entire year shouldn’t be dedicated to grammar and punctuation unless it’s a linguistics class. The high school English class is typically a combination of literature and grammar, right? So spend the right amount of time on literature to build the critical thinking and analytical skills students need.

Joseph encourages exactly this:

“The comma is not as important as the heartbeat of an essay. We can work on commas, but the most important thing is what you are saying and what you want me to think. If you can’t make that clear, wherever the comma is doesn’t make a difference.” 

“It’s not about balance, it’s about proportion. Commas are important little things, but they’re little things. You’ve got to spend big time on the big things and little time on the little things.”

Final Tip from Joseph Ross

If you haven’t yet, you will want to watch or listen to this entire episode because it’s full of crucial conversations and valuable insight to impactful teaching and learning.

We’ll leave you with this final thought from Joseph:

“Buy a book of poetry, read it, and then give it away.”

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Joseph Ross is the author of four books of poetry: Raising King (2020), Ache (2017), Gospel of Dust (2013), and Meeting Bone Man (2012). His poetry has appeared in a wide variety of publications including The New York Times Sunday Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The Southern Quarterly, Xavier Review, Poet Lore, Tidal Basin Review, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, and Sojourners. Joseph currently teaches in the Department of English at Gonzaga College High School.

Discover much more about Joseph’s accomplishments at josephross.net

Winning International Poetry Awards While Living in Jamaica

Inspiration from Antonia Valaire

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How can you win international poetry awards from right where you’re at? First, you should probably be writing some poetry and sending it out to be shared. But what about the other stuff that goes into building a poetry career that wins awards?

Let’s ask someone who’s done it! 

From being pronounced dead at birth and getting published without access to the internet to becoming an international award-winning poet, Atonia Valaire is living proof that there are no excuses to making your dreams come true. 

She has won international awards such as the Sarabita Masters Poetry Award, Spoken Word Artist of the Year, International Poet of the Year, and much more. 

So how does she do it?

Let your writing be bigger than yourself

Look, I can fill this section with my interpretation of Atonia’s thoughts, but she explains her experience so well. Let’s hear it from her:

“For a good while, I kept writing for myself. After a while, I got published in the newspaper. After that, there was a competition in my community, and I decided to enter. I was surprised myself. Most of the adults and their children were saying, "Woah, that touched me."

And that's when I fully grasped that there was something here because it's more than one person telling me. By the time I was 19, I got my first poem published in one of the oldest and biggest newspaper companies in Jamaica. It's very hard to get published in. 

At this point, I've got about 32 poems published overall. That pushed me to say this is a mission I am on. It's been about me, my experiences, my emotions, my feelings. I eventually stepped away from it being about me to what is it that I am seeing in the world? I started to write on nature and politics.

My world was opened up now that I saw the world for what it was.

Over a period of time, I got to perform on a big stage at the Jamaica Poetry Festival. From there, something began. Something is brewing inside of me, and I need to go deeper to see the world and start to bring my message — to be more potent.”

Be a constant learner

You hear it all the time: continuous education, never stop learning, etc. But there’s a reason it’s said so often. Being a constant learner means you’re always improving your knowledge base, which makes you an even more impactful poet. Atonia’s the same way. She loves to learn and read.

“My area of study was Eastern Philosophy. I’m a curious mind. If I see a word that I do not know, I would go and sit and read about it.”

She even explains how being a constant learner can help in the social media age as you’re trying to maintain your online presence:

“There are so many things on social media that you are exposed to, and you don't want to offend people by using the wrong word in the wrong context. In Jamaica, we are very raw in our words, and certain words mean certain things for us. On social media, I say something and didn't mean it in a negative way.

And I realized that people were being labeled, and sometimes it's a lot of ignorance from that person. It should be a moment of teaching when someone realizes they have made a mistake. ‘Cancel Culture,’ to me, is not helping people. It's allowing people to remain in their ignorance.”

Build your network

You know what they say, ‘it’s all about who you know,’ right? I’m sure you can guess where this is going.

Building your network is something you hear often because it's effective. Introducing yourself to the right people can open doors you may not otherwise be privy to.

Antonia says:

“We talk about the pull of social media and the pull of people. … I was new to the internet and had just won a computer. I decided I was going to take my poetry seriously. I looked up poetry sites. I saw a poetry group and joined it. Then I saw this poem and decided to comment, and then he inboxed me.

I also met a gentleman who is the owner of this publishing company. I got published in a competition in his books. He was helping me see what’s going on.

Eventually, over a period of time he was almost like a mentor because he would say, ‘Send me your poems. Let me look at it.’ I would send them to him, he would read it and give me guidance.

He said to me, ‘You know, you’ve been writing so long, you need to publish a book.’ He recommended a publisher.

I entered poems into several of his anthologies, and we began talking. I didn’t actually pursue publishing my book in that sense, but he decided that he wanted to publish my book. … It was just a beautiful emotion and feelings. I was very honored.”

See? It’s about who you know. Allow yourself to grow your network by meeting new people and staying in touch with them. You never know who they know and when that connection will click at the right time.

Do your research and keep working

Nothing will fall into your lap if you’re not out there actively doing the work. So do your research for the competitions and awards you can submit to or be nominated for. And if you get rejections — or even ghosted — don’t fret. It happens to literally all of us. Even, Antonia agrees:

“Do a Google search for competitions. I put in some serious work in terms of searching for a lot of poetry competitions. Some of the times you don’t get shortlisted. They tell you that you’re not good enough. I get all of that. The rejection letters saying you’re not good enough; you’re not this; you’re not that. And you know, I’ve had my work stolen. I went through all of that.”

And look at her accomplishments! Even a multi-award winning poet still gets rejection letters. Everyone does, but you’ve got to keep pushing on. Keep honing your skills and getting your work out there.

Antonia says, “I believe that practice makes consistent. I continue to work on my craft and try to utilize everything I have. … When you have very little resources, it forces you to think outside the box.”

Keep working at it. Do your research. Build your network. Continue learning. And let your work be bigger than yourself.

We’ll leave you with this one final message from Antonia:

Passion meets purpose.  So you have to be purposeful in what you’re doing. 

Listen to or watch the full episode to hear even more of Antonia’s amazing story and inspiration for how you to can get to where she is.

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Antonia Valaire believes you must bring your whole self to the table if you want to thrive in today’s crazy world: your personality, your sense of humor, and most importantly, your heart. All of these elements are what brought her to found her blog, Antonia Valaire’s Poetry Corner. Visit her website to discover all there is to know about Antonia Valaire!

Q&A with Sainey Ceesay: Youth Poet Laureate of Prince George’s County, MD

For six years, Patrick Washington and Neville Adams have led the charge behind the Youth Poet Laureate of Prince George’s County. With the assistance of the Prince George’s County Office of Community Relations as well as the Prince George’s County Arts and Humanities Council, Patrick and Neville have been able to support six talented young poets.

This year’s Prince George’s County Youth Poet Laureate is Sainey Ceesay, and we were lucky enough to sit down and learn from Sainey, Patrick, and Neville. Let’s take a look at some of that conversation, shall we?

(Note: Some questions have been rearranged for the sake of reading clarity. Be sure to listen to the full conversation anywhere you stream podcasts!)

Poet Life: So when did you start performing?

Sainey Ceesay: My first little transition into trying to breathe more life into my poems and kind of listen to how my poems wanted to be delivered came from my poetry club. My first poetry club captain showed me how alive a poem can become. And I think I’ve improved a lot in how I deliver things through being a dialect poet -- I was a poetry ambassador last year -- and you guys have really helped me to think about how I’m saying my poems and how I deliver them. Over the summer, I was in the Brave New Voices competition, and Pages really helped us to smooth out our poems and how we want to say them and how we want them to sound, and getting back into that space of remembering why we wrote it. So it’s a mix of all these people along the way who have really helped me to elevate how I do my poetry and how it performs.

Poet Life: Where do you get your inspiration when you write poetry?

Sainey: I do like to educate myself by reading into different topics. But a lot of times, especially when it comes to activism and theory and all of that, I find that those concepts already are working and applying in my life. So more than anything, I inform my own work.

Poet Life: How quickly do you write and commit to memory?

Sainey: I never know how long the process is going to take. Sometimes the majority of the poem and concept is done in an hour or two. Sometimes it takes days for me to really figure out how I want to structure things and how I want to say them. So I never really know how long it’s going to take for me to finish a poem. Recently, I’ve been writing a lot more and having a bit of a faster turnover, but I really don’t know how long. And then there’s also poems that I want to write about, but I’m still in the process of taking things in and processing my emotions. That’s also part of the process, so all of those things kind of come together before a poem comes onto the page.

Poet Life: So what made you apply to be the PG County Youth Poet Laureate?

Sainey: When I was a poet freshman year, I went to this poetry competition, and the 2017 poet laureate was on the final stage. I found out that they were the poet laureate of Prince George’s County, and I’ve always had it in the back of my mind that it was something I wanted to do. It just so happened my senior year that things finally lined up to where I could take it on and apply.

Poet Life Podcast: What was the process like?

Sainey: There’s a three-step process to becoming a poet laureate or ambassador.

1. You have to submit five of your best poems. Patrick looks for civic engagement and being involved in your community, as well as artistic achievement. Then it’s a point system.

2. Then the second step is an interview. They ask different questions about your work, your art, what you hope to do to create change with your poetry, and what art means to you. Then that’s another point system.

3. Finally, there’s the performance. 

Poet Life: Do you have events or projects planned in your mind that you want to make happen this year?

Sainey: I have a couple of things that I plan on doing. One of those things includes trying to create a youth slam that’s PG County-wide for all of the high schools, because that was an experience that was really important to me. I want to bring slam back to PG County and have other people experience that. That’s what helped me to really fall in love with poetry and specifically spoken word.

Poet Life (directed towards Neville Adams): What is she going to be faced with in this position, Neville?

Neville Adams: She’ll be faced with being a voice for teens and being the person who gets called on for events, especially formal events. They will look up on her as the voice of all teens in Prince George’s County. Something that comes with it’s something that with it comes an air of responsibility with what she'll be saying and the fact that she needs to be cued into her peers because she’s going to be representing them. There are going to be some things that she’ll want to bring up. And she’s in a position that is even a semi-political position as well.

Poet Life (directed at Patrick Washington): Patrick, do you all have set things in place for her to do or are all three of you brainstorming then figuring out what the calendar looks like for 2021?

Patrick Washington: Yeah, so there are certain pre-set events we have. Prince George’s Arts and Humanities has their Festival of Literary Arts every year, and she is to participate in the Library of Congress to perform during poetry month. There are certain big events that are pre-set, but aside from there, we still have to sit down and find out what issues and things she wants to focus on. 

Poet Life (directed at Sainey): What are your parents saying?

Sainey: They are very proud. It took them a little bit to come around. It also took some time to really stand in and claim that I’m an artist, and this is something that I care about and want to do. It was always kind of like the conversation of “Are you going to be able to make something of yourself? Like maybe you should to do something more practical.” But they’re seeing how serious I’m taking it and the opportunities that open up, and are becoming more encouraging of it.

Poet Life: How has this year been with COVID?

Sainey: You know, a lot of ups and downs. I lost my grandfather earlier this year to COVID, and I’ve had a couple of health scares. I was the graduating senior class of 2020, so we missed out on prom and graduation and those things. I think a lot of blessings have also come out of quarantine for me personally. Being able to log on virtually and go to different events. I’ve been able to meet a lot of different people that I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet otherwise. I’ve been to a lot of different open mics across the U.S. and internationally. That’s connected me to a lot of people. Also on Instagram, there’s a whole poetry community, and I’ve been able to meet some poets that I look up to that I may not have been able to because of COVID. It’s helped me build a lot more community, especially in the poetry world than I had before. ... It’s really comforting to be around other poets and share our stories and our work and to listen to other poets speak to things that maybe you haven’t touched on yet or had the time to find words for. And just being amazed at the work other people do. I love to be with other poets and talking art. 

Poet Life: If you can leave something for the people, the youth, what would you say?

Patrick: Continue to be good listeners. She’s a wonderful artist because she listens, she takes different things from different people and art forms then creates something new and fresh and something that is heard.

Neville: Study, study, study. No half stepping. I believe that whatever you’re doing, in order to be the best, you have to get it down pat, stand up and speak out loud.

Sainey: Honestly, what I’m about to say might be a little bit cheesy, but follow your passion. Your passion unlocks your purpose. You know what it is that you care about and what you want to do. Don’t let other people tell you it’s not possible because you can make it possible. 

Sainey Ceesay is the 2021 Prince George’s County Youth Poet Laureate and a student at Prince George's Community College where she has an arts concentration and is a recipient of the Dual to Degree scholarship. She is Alumni of Eleanor Roosevelt's class of 2020, And Joe's Movement Emporium’s Creative Works Class of 2020. Sainey was also a 2020 Youth Poet Ambassador representing Greenbelt, MD and the Winner of the 2020 Words Beats and Life slam season, becoming a part of their DMV slam team. She has performed for Brave New Voices Youth Poetry Slam, the Kennedy Center, and the Smithsonian and has been featured in several virtual slams and open mics during COVID.Her poetry touches on topics like mental health, their blackness and identity as a Gambian-American, Gender Issues, and social injustice. She seeks to find and build community through her poetry and help others to be encouraged to write. Aside from poetry, Sainey also has interest in sewing and photography, and works with the digital media collective known as “The Media Buru''. She also volunteers with PG Mutual Aid as a way to help better her community.

Discovering Your Identity In Poetry

Knowing your identity, as a poet or a professional of any kind, will help you in the long run. It will give you insight to what projects or opportunities fit who you are and what your goals are, and it will help others know what to expect from you. But how do you find your identity?

Start with the definition.

identity: noun

1. a. the distinguishing character or personality of an individual

(This is a partial definition from Merriam-Webster.)

Then consult a pro.

And that’s what we’ve done. Let’s hear from a professional poet, writer, performer, businessman who has formed his brand around his identity: Papi Picasso.

Let poetry be therapeutic

When asked what he could teach about based off his own experience in the poetry industry, Papi Picasso said this: 

“It would be about identity narratives. It would be about making sure that your art reflects your life and how to constructively use that conduit of poetry as a funnel to express yourself and analyze yourself and almost be critical. Let it be therapeutic. Poetry revolves around experiences and lessons, no matter what topic I decide to write about.”

He said it. Let poetry be therapeutic. Open yourself up to introspection and discover what it is that makes you who you are and to decipher lessons you’ve learned through your experiences. That can help you uncover your identity. 

It doesn’t have to be only personal experiences. You can explore your personal reaction to societal experiences as well. 

For example, Papi said, “When Ahmaud Arbery died, I wrote a poem called, ‘Run, Black Boy.’ And that’s one of those poems that fell out. It was important for me to address that as a father to a black son. So if I perform that poem, it’s because I want people to understand the level of social engagement that should be constantly going on. There’s never a day off on that poem.”

Lean into controlled transparency

What makes Papi stand out from other poets? He says it’s his ability to be transparent without being weak. 

He says, “I don’t hold back. When I give you my story, I wear my heart on my sleeve, but I don’t give you my shirt. I maintain my privacy on my own terms. My take on fatherhood is the foremost part of what my poetry discusses. My takes on manhood and the redefinition of manhood are the forefront of my discussions. My sharing on going through depression and what my mental health did to me at a point in my life is how I took control of the narrative and understood where the accountability was.”

“I wear my heart on my sleeve, but I don’t give you my shirt.”

As poets, lots of us pride ourselves on our vulnerability and authenticity — which is fantastic. But there’s a line between vulnerability and oversharing. That line will depend on the person and their experiences, of course. Note how he said he “took control of the narrative” and that he “wears [his] heart on [his] sleeve, but [he won’t] give you [his] shirt.” 

How valuable is that? You can lean into your transparency and vulnerability while still being in control of how much you share, how you share it, and how it relates to your identity.

Answer the business questions

Being in the poetry industry, you cannot avoid business speak. It comes with the territory. Answering some business questions will not only help you lay a foundation for you to get started with, but it will also help you understand who you are and what you’re aiming for.

Papi says, “In business in general, whether it be from my bachelor’s to my master’s in nonprofit association management or an MBA, you have to understand the business behind the things. You have to have strategic partnerships. I think poets limit themselves because they only know how to get a little bag for hosting and doing hand-to-hand sales. I’m sure you can make money off that. Cool.”

Here are some questions from Papi for you to consider:

• Are you doing bulk orders? 

• Have you created a brand that is recognizable? 

• What’s your mission statement? 

• Where are your fundamental values? 

• When you apply for grants, will the City want to invest in you based on what your brand looks like or do you just have an IG in which you share your poetry? There’s a very big difference. 

• Do you have the infrastructure set up? 

• Do you stand with drop-ship versus fulfilling your own? 

• Are you an Amazon author or an independent author where you control the entire product line? 

• Do you understand what your return on investment is? 

He goes on to say, “You’ve got to understand all of these things in order to successfully promote who and what you want. That being said, when I started sharing my poetry, I intentionally and purposefully understood that I didn’t want to be a regular open mic poet. I did that to earn my stripes, to understand crowd interaction, to let people know I’m here. … When I came in with that level of purpose, I started the brand and got the Papi Picasso logo.”

The business side of things means making sure what you’re promoting fits your identity, which is your personal brand. Consistency in branding goes a long way in audiences recognizing who you are and what they can expect from you. And when audiences see a consistent brand, they’re more likely to support that brand — whether financially or otherwise.

Final thoughts from Papi Picasso

Let poetry be therapeutic, lean into controlled transparency, and answer the business questions. Those are only three main tips Papi Picasso left for us in this episode of Poet Life Podcast. He shared many other nuggets of golden information and inspiration for you. 

For now, we’ll leave you with a couple final thoughts from Papi:

“We own this culture. This culture moves every brand forward. It interfaces with it.”

“I’ll argue that poetry doesn’t fit anywhere. Everywhere fits within poetry. Poets by virtue, walk around with that energy because we know the minute we were approached or confronted with anything that requires a response, our response is going to cut harder, sharper, and deeper than anybody else’s.”

Be sure to listen to or watch the full episode. You won’t regret it.

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Opting not to pander to an audience by providing simple poetry for shock value, and speaking down to the audience, instead he had them LISTEN UP. Addressing issues such as discrimination, gender inequality, the digital divide, gentrification, divorce, co-parenting, fatherhood and repeatedly virtues of manhood he has established as a bedrock for poetry in Atlanta, growing internationally.post-divorce Mario relocated to Atlanta to provide his children a better quality of life. Learn all about Papi Picasso at papipicassopoetry.com