2022 Nashville Youth Poet Laureate Application

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The Nashville Youth Poet Laureate is a joint program of the Office of the Mayor, Southern Word, Metro Human Relations Commission, Nashville Public Library, Metro Arts, in partnership with Urban Word, and supported by the PEN Center USA, Academy of American Poets, and Nashville Public Library Foundation. The Nashville Youth Poet Laureate program aims to identify young writers and leaders who are committed to civic and community engagement, diversity and inclusion, and youth voice across Nashville.

This fall, Nashville will accept submissions from young poets, emcees, writers, and leaders ages 13-19 from across Nashville who are interested in representing Nashville as the Nashville Youth Poet Laureate. Three finalists will be offered the opportunity to perform at State of the Word in December. One youth will be honored with the title of Nashville Youth Poet Laureate.

The Nashville Youth Poet Laureate will have opportunities to share their powerful voice, their leadership, and love of Nashville at numerous events across the city. The organizational supporters of this program recognize that youth voice and community engagement are vital for empowering young people to effect positive changes in their communities and beyond.

As part of the Nashville YPL selection process, applicants have an opportunity to submit any poetic response to Colson Whitehead’s writing that is no more than 90 seconds when presented out loud. The piece will be performed before two-time Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Colson Whitehead speaks for the Nashville Public Library Foundation’s Public Lecture at Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet at 10am on Saturday, November 13th as part of Nashville Reads. More details are provided at the end of the application for youth interested.
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Poetry Submissions

As part of your application, you must submit 3 original poems. Submit at least one poem that speaks to the themes of Human Relations, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, or Positive Social Change. You may copy and paste each poem using the text boxes provided or provide YouTube links.

NASHVILLE READS SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY (OPTIONAL)

Applicants have an opportunity to submit a piece to perform before two-time Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Colson Whitehead speaks for the Nashville Public Library Foundation’s Public Lecture. This event will be held at Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet at 10am on Saturday, November 13th.

You may submit any poetic response to Colson Whitehead’s writing that is no more than 90 seconds when presented out loud. You can learn about him at www.colsonwhitehead.com.

If you need a prompt, you can respond to the following excerpt from Nickel Boys (pp. 26 - 27):
"He couldn’t explain it, even to himself, until At Zion Hill gave him a language. We must believe in our souls that we are somebody, that we are significant, that we are worthful, and we must walk the streets of life every day with this sense of dignity and this sense of somebody-ness.The record went around and around, like an argument that always returned to its unassailable premise, and Dr. King’s words filled the front room of the shotgun house. Elwood bent to a code — Dr. King gave that code shape, articulation, and meaning. There are big forces that want to keep the Negro down, like Jim Crow, and there are small forces that want to keep you down, like other people, and in the face of all those things, the big ones and the smaller ones, you have to stand up straight and maintain your sense of who you are. The encyclopedias are empty. There are people who trick you and deliver emptiness with a smile, while others rob you of your self-respect. You need to remember who you are."
  1. 1) Describe a moment when you were robbed of your self-respect and then remembered who you are.
  2. 2) In the phrase “the encyclopedias are empty,” a source of information and expertise does not turn out to be what he expects. Write about an experience when a source of information or expertise did not turn out to be what you expected.
  3. 3) Start by describing a concrete object such as a record player or encyclopedia. Make that concrete object a metaphor for a greater point you would like to make about people, race, and power.

Are you interested in submitting a poem for the Nashville Reads special opportunity?

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