Poetry
Poetry has always been popular, but it seems like during this COVID pandemic, poems and poetry are popping up all over the place. Do you have a favorite type of poem? Free verse or haiku? Epic or villanelle? Road to comfort or road to activism? You choose your own path.
Oakland's 2020
Youth Poet Laureate
Youth Poet Laureate
Did you know that Oakland has its own Youth Poet Laureate? (In case you are wondering, a laureate is someone who gets an award for being really creative and super smart!)
Oakland's current Youth Poet Laureate is Greer Nakadegawa-Lee. She is a junior at Oakland Technical High School. She's also a published author! Find out about her chapbook A Heart Full of Hallways here.
Watch her interview with Samuel Getachew (Oakland's 2019 Youth Poet Laureate) to learn how and when (hint...middle school) she started writing poetry.
A Poetry Video?
Did you know that people make poetry videos? Check out some poetry online at the Poetry Foundation website!
Wayne the Stegosaurus by Kenn Nesbitt
We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks
Meera Dasgupta
2020 National
Youth Poet Laureate
2020 National
Youth Poet Laureate
Congratulations to Meera Dasgupta from New York City! She became our newest National Youth Poet Laureate at the National Youth Poet Laureate Competition held online on May 16, 2020.
National Youth Poet Laureate
The 2019 National Youth Poet Laureate, Kara Jackson, didn't start writing poetry until she was 15 years old. Check out her TEDx Talk Poetry: a Black Girl's Road to Visibility to learn more about her and some of the poets that inspire her.
The Miracle of Morning by Amanda Gorman
The 2017 inaugural National Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman, creates an uplifting message for us all. (Filmed in the Los Angeles Public Library -- Wow!)
Lots of funny poems on Kenn Nesbitt's website!
An interview with Kwame Alexander about his poetry collection Out of Wonder (we have this book in the Montera library!).
Photo by Kwame Alexander
Maya Angelou recites her unforgettable poem
And Still I Rise
Create your own blackout poetry! All you need is a page from a book (make sure it's a book that no one wants to read anymore) and a marker.
