"YOUTH POET LAUREATE"
WELCOME - We look forward to reading your poetry submissions and meeting you.
If you know anyone who would like to also submit their poems, please let them know.
Below the application is the Press Release which will give you the details of this opportunity. Please feel free to read it.
We appreciate you.
For Immediate Release
WHAM Art Center Accepting Applications for 2025-2026 West Valley Youth Poet Laureate
Applications are now being accepted for the 2025-2026 West Valley Youth Poetry Laureate competition sponsored by The WHAM Community Art Center in Surprise, AZ.
This is our third year in honoring youth poetry in the West Valley’, said Maggie Gautier, WHAM’s Literary Arts Manager. This year we are very excited to be teaming with Danielle Edgerton, the Curriculum Specialist for the Dysart School District. Her involvement will help spread the word to students in the Dysart School District as well as her acceptance to be one of the judges.
Opportunities for West Valley Youth Poet Laureates will span the entire West Valley, working with the Surprise Arts and Culture, Peoria Arts and Culture, Buckeye Arts and Culture, Glendale Arts and Culture, Avondale Arts and Culture and Goodyear Arts and Culture commissions, as well as local high school districts.
If you know any youth who are interested in writing and leadership, we hope you will encourage them to apply for the 2025-2026 West Valley Youth Poet Laureate Program. The program allows for the refinement of writing skills through speaking and recitation opportunities, and it also builds leadership and initiative through civic engagement opportunities. In addition to the title, the winner will be invited and encouraged to speak at special events and to work with WHAM by outreaching to the community in presentations about the benefits of poetry and artistic expression.
To qualify, youth must be between the ages of 14-17 and reside on one of the following West Valley cities: Avondale, Buckeye, El Mirage, Gila Bend, Glendale, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Peoria, Sun City, Surprise, Tolleson, Wickenburg and Youngtown. Applicates must submit contact information, a short essay response, and a creative writing sample of 3-5 poems as part of their application. Every applicant will have the opportunity for their work to be published in a chapbook and an anthology with other poems submitted by the poets who attend the monthly Open Mic at WHAM on the third Friday of every month at 6:30-8p.m.
The 2025-2026 West Valley Youth Poet Laureate application can be accessed by visiting www.wham-art.org/wvypl. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday April 16th at midnight. and the performance and ceremony will be held at the WHAM Gallery, 16560 N Dysart Rd, Surprise, AZ 85378 on Friday May 2nd from 6:30 to 8:30. For any questions or concerns regarding the WVYPL application, please contact WHAM Literary Arts Manager Maggie Gautier (Maggie.gautier@wham-art.org)
Participants of the 2024 West Valley Youth Poet Laureate Induction
