2020 Anthology & Videos
2020 National Youth Poet Laureate Anthology
BETWEEN STARSHINE AND CLAY
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Between Starshine and Clay is a poetic anthology depicting the voices of young writers and activists from across the nation. The name being a homage to “won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton, it provides a lens into the narratives of poets who are the exemplification of utilizing art as a means of making themselves known. Every letter is a journey, a microcosm of a survival story that declares “I am still here.” Together, they manifest a tsunami from the depths, crashing into the world and an ocean which threatened to drown them because they are not alone, and neither are you.
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MEET TAYLOR
Taylor Gensolin is a South Florida Youth Poet Laureate, a program supported by the Jason Taylor Foundation. Taylor has experience has an art editor, youth ambassador, and arts educator. In addition to being a poet, she is an amazing visual artist.
MEET SAMUEL
Samuel Getachew is a 17 year old poet and writer from Oakland, California, a program supported by the Oakland Public Library. As a black, first-generation, Ethiopian writer, he uses poetry to shine light on contemporary issues as well as a personal outlet for emotion. He is currently a senior at Oakland Technical High School.
MEET MEERA
Meera Dasgupta is the 16-year-old New York City Poet Laureate. A Van Lier Fellow, Federal Hall Fellow, Climate Speaks Winner, & Scholastic Arts and Writing Winner her performances have been featured by the NY Times, PBS, Apple, Grist, the Apollo, Bryant Park etc. and she has been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall, the Teen Vogue Summit, TEDxCUNY, amongst many others. Meera uses the intersection between social justice and poetry to uplift the voices of historically underrepresented communities .
MEET NA
Na was born in Baghdad, Iraq and moved to the United States as a refugee in 2008. She was Ann Arbor Michigan’s 2019 Youth Poet Laureate, a program supported by Neutral Zone. She released her debut collection Cardamom in April of 2020. Na’s work is reflective of her experience as an Arab woman, an American citizen, and a refugee.