Jodie Jasim, a junior at Oak Creek High School, named 2026-2027 Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate!
An Iraqi-American poet, visual artist, and advocate, Jodie Jasim is rooted in passion. Jodie's poetry explores the intersection of her two conflicting identities: an Iraqi immigrant daughter and an American teenage girl. Jodie’s poetry flourished from her visual art practice. She wanted to express and expand her work but felt constrained by the typical artist statement. Through her poetic practice, she hopes to elicit empathy and allow others to understand the complexities of an Arab American identity.
As the 2026–27 Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate, Jodie will receive a $500 book allowance, a paid summer internship with Woodland Pattern (including a Poetry Camp counselor position), ongoing mentorship and support from Woodland Pattern throughout the Laureateship; along with opportunities to perform around the city, compete for regional and national titles, lead writing workshops for fellow youth poets, and connect with local organizations to spotlight social causes.
Upcoming Public Events with Jodie Jasim
All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise listed.
Tuesday, June 9, 4:30 pm: Poetry Reading: 35th Annual Milwaukee Arts Board Awards Celebration: In person at the City Hall Rotunda (200 E. Wells Street)
- Milwaukee Arts Board celebrates another year of Sustaining Grant recipients! Jodie Jasim will close the awards celebration with her poems. Click here to RSVP!
Tuesday, July 14, 6:30 pm: Poetry in the Park: In Person at Juneau Park (900 N. Prospect Ave., at the Solomon Juneau statue)
- Jodie will read with Natalie Eilbert, Jay Mollerskov, and Nakeysha Roberts Washington.
Past Events with Jodie Jasim
Friday, May 15: Milwaukee Recreation Partnership for the Arts and Humanities Showcase: at North Division High School (1011 W. Center St)
- Jodie debuted her laureateship alongside an amazing array of performances. See the TMJ4 article for more details!
Watch the 2026 Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate competition
Featuring Jodie Jasim, reading with finalists Niles Janzen and Mia Lucke. The event also features appearances by Angela Wang, the previous Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate, and Shelly Conley, 2025-2026 Milwaukee Poet Laureate. The MYPL contest was judged by poet and Founder and Project Manager of In Community Alea McHatten, visual artist and poet and Woodland Pattern Teaching Artist Jackie Valadez, and typewriter poet and Manager for Sociocultural Programming at UW–Milwaukee John Contreras.
Coming soon . . .
About the Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate Program
Established in 2022 by Woodland Pattern and Wisconsin Poet Laureate Dasha Kelly Hamilton—in partnership with Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee Public Schools, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Writing Project, and UWM's Graduate Program in Creative Writing—the Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate program is part of the national affiliation of Youth Poet Laureate programs, administrated by Urban Word.
Since its launch, this city-wide initiative has experienced undeniable success. Milwaukee’s first two laureates, Emily Igwike and Aleena Ahmed, placed first and second in the Midwest regionals in 2024, and Igwike competed for the title of National Youth Poet Laureate in 2025.
Not only are we proud of our inaugural laureates, but also of the ambitious scope of our program. Differentiating it from YPL programs in other cities, the Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate program offers a dedicated year-long mentorship for the laureate (and continued support after the laureate's tenure), holds workshops and open mics for Milwaukee teens, and provides curriculum support for public school teachers who wish to incorporate poetry in their classrooms.
Program Sponsors
Woodland Pattern is grateful to all who have sponsored this program. Sponsors for the inaugural cycle included the Academy of American Poets, Amazon Literary Partnership, the Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library, the Gardner Foundation, the Brandon Gelzer Memorial Fund at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the UWM Program in Creative Writing, and private donors. This project is funded in part through a City of Milwaukee grant of federal community development funds.
We're grateful for the ongoing collaborative support from our partners, America SCORES Milwaukee, Cream City Review, Future Urban Leaders, Genre: Urban Arts, Indian Community School, Lyrical Sanctuary, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee Public Schools, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Writing Project, & WUWM 89.7 FM.
Despite a strong network of partnerships and sponsors, this program is growing and still in search of support to help it grow and thrive. If you’re looking to uplift youth in Milwaukee, please consider donating!
We acknowledge that in Milwaukee we live and work on traditional Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, and Menominee homelands along the southwest shores of Michigami, part of North America’s largest system of freshwater lakes, where the Milwaukee, Menominee, and Kinnickinnic rivers meet and the people of Wisconsin’s sovereign Anishinaabe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida, and Mohican nations remain present.
We further acknowledge the iniquity and suffering colonialism introduced to these lands through genocide and slavery, as well as through racist and xenophobic beliefs, laws, and practices that continue to inflict harm upon Black, brown, Indigenous, and immigrant lives. We honor those who have lived—and live now—at these intersections of identity and experience.
720 E. Locust Street
Milwaukee, WI 53212
Phone: 414 263 5001
Hours: Tues–Sun | 12-7 pm
Closed Mon
Building Accessibility: Despite the age of our physical location, and attendant limitations to access, Woodland Pattern is committed to making its programs and facilities available for as many as possible. Please call for more information.
Events Accessibility: Woodland Pattern is able to offer captioning services for its online events and with advanced notice can provide ASL interpretation for live events. Please contact us with accommodation requests and questions.
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