Young People’s Poet Laureate
Awarded every two years, the $25,000 laureate title is given to a living writer in recognition of a career devoted to writing exceptional poetry for young readers. The laureate advises the Poetry Foundation on matters relating to young people’s literature and may engage in a variety of projects to help instill a lifelong love of poetry among the nation’s developing readers. This laureateship aims to promote poetry to children and their families, teachers, and librarians over the course of its two-year tenure.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
September 8, 2022
Created in partnership with Motionpoems, this film adaptation of Naomi Shihab Nye’s “Famous” meditates on the human desire to be seen and the individualized ways in which we define recognition.
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AudioFrom Poetry Off the Shelf July 2019
Naomi Shihab Nye talks about a trunk full of treasures, childhood in Palestine, and her grandson's poetic bone.
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Book PickThe Black Flamingo
Picked By Elizabeth Acevedo February 2023I’m a sucker for a well-done novel in verse. Readers get not only a narrative thread to unspool, but also elevated attention to sharp imagery and subversive language. Dean Atta’s...
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Book Pick
Home Is Not a Country
Picked By Elizabeth Acevedo January 2023Home Is Not a Country is Safia Elhillo’s debut young adult novel in verse. The book follows a young Muslim teen navigating the life she has and the life she...
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Book Pick
More in Time: A Tribute to Ted Kooser (Naomi Shihab Nye’s Last Book Pick!)
Picked By Naomi Shihab Nye September 2022It’s a great luxury to focus on the work of just one writer any time you can. We live in the era of bouncy gloss – one headline to another,...
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2019-2022 Laureate
Naomi Shihab Nye was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father was a Palestinian refugee and her mother an American of German and Swiss descent, and Nye spent her adolescence...
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2017-2019 Laureate
Poet, novelist, and journalist Margarita Engle was born in Pasadena, California, to a Cuban mother and an American father. She earned a BS from California State Polytechnic University and an...
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2015-2017 Laureate
Jacqueline Woodson was born in Columbus, Ohio and grew up in Greenville, South Carolina and Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of over 30 books for children and adults, including...
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2013-2015 Laureate
Kenn Nesbitt was born in Berkeley, California. He grew up in Fresno and San Diego and attended National University in San Diego, where he majored in computer science. Nesbitt’s poetry for...
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2011-2013 Laureate
Former Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis grew up in Gary, Indiana and earned a BA at Saint Joseph’s College, an MA at Indiana University, and a PhD in economics...
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2008-2011 Laureate
Mary Ann Hoberman was born in Stamford, Connecticut. She earned a BA in history from Smith College and (35 years later) an MA in English literature from Yale University. She...
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2006-2008 Laureate
Jack Prelutsky is a creator of inventive poems for children and adults alike. He served as the Poetry Foundation’s Children’s Poet Laureate from 2006 to 2008. Prelutsky grew up in...
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