LAKE COUNTY— The Lake County Arts Council and Lake County Poet Laureate Georgina Marie Guardado announced this week the launch of the inaugural Youth Poet Laureate Program.
Inspired by the non-stop momentum of youth poetry in the United States, Guardado noted that she wanted Lake County to become part of the movement by creating the first Youth Poet Laureate program of the county. The Lake County Poet Laureate program was inducted in 1998 and has successfully appointed 11 poets laureate between 1998 and 2020. Guardado added that when she proposed the program to the Executive Director of LCAC, Barbara Clark, the idea was immediately welcomed with enthusiasm. The Board voted unanimously to create the program with Guardado’s direction and with LCAC being the host organization.
Guardado is the first Mexican-American and youngest to serve in the role of Lake County Poet Laureate for the county. Last June she was selected as a Poets Laureate Fellow with the Academy of American Poets. She is the Literary Coordinator and Poetry Out Loud Coordinator for the Lake County Arts Council, where she also serves as a Board Member, and Poet in Residence for The Bloom. She has served as co-editor for the Middletown Art Center’s RESILIENCE and RESTORE collections of written word, funded by the California Arts Council.
Over the course of a year, Guardado researched and planned the program while carrying out her own duties as Poet Laureate and as a Fellow with the Academy of American Poets. She and LCAC have partnered with Urban Word NYC, the very organization that hosts the National Youth Poet Laureate program; to both connect Lake County to partners across the country and for the Youth Poet Laureate to have access to a wide array of opportunities offered by Urban Word NYC. Many may be familiar with the widely known Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, who eloquently recited at President Biden’s inauguration in 2020. Our current National Youth Poet Laureate, Alexandra Huynh, is from neighboring Sacramento.
Urban Word NYC celebrates the nation’s top poets who are committed to artistic excellence, civic engagement, and social impact. Founded in New York City in 2008, the Youth Poet Laureate Program partners with local and national literary arts organizations across the country to elevate youth voices at the forefront of social change. Program partners and supporters include the Academy of American Poets, the Library of Congress, the Poetry Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
According to Guardado, with youth programs making a significant impact across the nation, implementing such a program in Lake County would directly support the voices of the county’s rural youth, encourage a new sense of community, build public speaking and leadership skills for our appointee, and give opportunity for youth to speak for social justice, racial equality, and diversity.
Urban Word NYC has partnered with leading youth literary arts organizations to launch YPL Programs in more than 35 cities and counties across the country, and counting. These programs include mission-based commitments to marginalized youth and people of color, diverse artist-led organizations, and organizations that value youth leadership.
Community partnerships for this program will include the Middletown Art Center, the Soper Reese Theater, County of Lake Board of Supervisors, the Lake County Office of Education, and the Lake County Library. Guardado and the LCAC also ask for the support of the entire community. If you are interested in donating to this program, visit https://lakearts.org/joingive/donate/ to learn how to donate.
The inaugural YPL will receive mentorship from the current Poet Laureate, and a one-year term in which they will be able to offer workshops, open mics or slam events, and more. As a partner with Urban Word NYC, the YPL will also be offered publication of poems in the National Youth Poet Laureate annual anthology (published by Penmanship Books), and will be eligible to apply to be a regional YPL. The YPL will also have access to leadership development and seminars with YPLs across the US.
For details on eligibility, areas of consideration, and timeline, and to submit an Applicant Interest Form, visit https://lakearts.org/literary/youth-poet-laureate/.
Have questions? Would you like to volunteer to be a part of this process in any way? Email Georgina Marie at gmarie@lakearts.org
