Are you a high school poet ready to amplify your voice? Application for Milwaukee's Youth Poet Laureate competition is now open!
What’s MYPL all about?
Open to Milwaukee County freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, the Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate (MYPL) program is an exciting opportunity to represent our city’s youth voice. Each year, we select one poet laureate, but MYPL is more than a competition. It’s a supportive community where young poets connect, collaborate, and make a difference.
Why get involved?
- Stand Out Academically: Boost your college applications with leadership, community involvement, and publication credits.
- Gain Professional Experience: Explore internships, performances, and partnerships with local organizations.
- Strengthen Your Voice: Share your work, connect with peers, and inspire change.
- Find Your Community: Meet poets who value empathy, creativity, and social justice.
The 2025 Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate will receive:
- A $500 book allowance
- A paid summer internship with Woodland Pattern
- Mentorship and opportunities to perform, facilitate workshops, and compete for regional and national titles
Application requirements:
Submit 5 poems and a CV outlining extracurriculars, volunteer work, and academic honors. Want help? Reach out for guidance on creating, editing, and building a strong application. Submissions close March 30, 2025.
Aleena Ahmed, a junior at Nicolet High School, named 2024-2025 Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate!
Born in New York, Aleena Ahmed, a Bengali-American poet and a student at Nicolet High School, was recently selected to serve as the 2024–25 Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate. Aleena has lived in both America and Bangladesh, where she has found home in the sound of rain and freshly cut coconuts. Although she is an only child, Aleena always had an abundance of extended family and cousins where she grew up, surrounded with lively, passionate conversation and a vibrant home atmosphere. Aleena’s multicultural upbringing has greatly influenced her perspective as a writer and deepened her appreciation of her identity. While she adores the arts in every form, Aleena has found herself most intrigued by poetry, where she seeks to push and bend the boundaries of language. Aleena hopes to inspire other young women such as herself, and demonstrate the power of language as a tool to challenge conventional thought.
As the 2024–25 Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate, Aleena 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.
Aleena (left) with inaugural Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate Emily Igwike (right)
Upcoming Public Events with Aleena Ahmed
All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise listed.
Lake Effect Interview with WUWM 89.7 FM
Saturday, January 25, 12 pm–1 pm: 31st Annual Poetry Marathon & Benefit | Youth Hour at Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel (139 E. Kilbourn Ave.)
Past Events with Aleena Ahmed
Thursday, December 5, 5:30 pm-7 pm: The Red Carpet Celebrity Poetry Slam at The Fitzgerald (1119 N. Marshall St.)
Aleena takes the stage alongside an all-star squad of community leaders, poetry enthusiasts, and elementary-aged Poet-Athletes to celebrate 20 years of transformative after-school programming by Milwaukee SCORES.
Saturday, October 19, 11 am-12:30 pm: Youth Writing Workshop at East Library (2320 N. Cramer St.)
Sunday, September 15: 2nd Annual Brunchraiser—Aleena was featured at this event alongside former US Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera.
Tuesday, July 9: Poetry in the Park—Aleena read poems with Madison Poet Laureate Steven Espada Dawson, former Wisconsin Poet Laureate Margaret Rozga, and Ajamou Butler.
Aleena reading at Poetry in the Park on July 9, 2024
Watch the 2024 Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate competition
Featuring Aleena Ahmed reading with finalists Temiloluwa Adesanya and Laya Sumithra. The event also features appearances by Emily Igwike, inaugural Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate, and Margaret Rozga, Woodland Pattern Board Member and 2019-2020 Wisconsin Poet Laureate. The MYPL contest was judged by Milwaukee Arts Board member and Manager of Afterschool Arts & Humanities at Milwaukee Recreation April Heding, poet and PhD candidate in Creative Writing at UW-Milwaukee Sean Enfield, and poet and Director of Woodland Pattern’s Milwaukee Queer Writing Project CJ Scruton.
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.
Milwaukee's program uniquely features a course curriculum for high school juniors that places equal emphasis on creative writing and critical thinking, preparing students to become thought leaders. Designed by Hamilton with flexibility and teacher support in mind, the course is MPS–approved and interested teachers may implement it in whole or in part.
Each year, the Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate will have the opportunity to compete for national and regional titles. The National Youth Poet Laureate Competition is an initiative of Urban Word, in collaboration with local youth literary arts organizations across the country; and championed by the leading national literary and arts organizations, including the Library of Congress, Academy of American Poets, The Poetry Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and Cave Canem.
The program identifies powerful youth poets that have a history of artistic success, civic and community engagement, social justice, and youth leadership. Over 50 partner cities participate in Urban Word’s national network of Youth Poet Laureates and compete in the National Youth Poet Laureate Competition.
Along with offering the title of local Youth Poet Laureate (YPL), Urban Word publishes poems by local YPLs in its annual National Youth Poet Laureate anthology.
MYPL in the Schools: Curriculum Support for Teachers
Teachers in Milwaukee County interested in implementing the MYPL curriculum in their classrooms are encouraged to reach out to Assistant Programming Director Antonio Vargas-Nieto for lesson-plan materials, more information, or to schedule a class visit through the button below. Any other questions can be directed to Antonio or to the Woodland Pattern offices at 414-263-5001.
Check back soon for our forthcoming MYPL workbook for teachers!
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, Gardner Foundation, the Brandon Gelzer Memorial Fund at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the UWM Program in Creative Writing, and private donors.
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, Universtiy 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!
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We further acknowledge the grave evil colonialism introduced to these lands through genocide as well as slavery, and also via racist and xenophobic beliefs, laws, and practices that continue to inflict harm upon Black, brown, and Indigenous lives. We honor those who have lived—and do live, now—at these intersections of identity and experience, and are committed to the active dismantling of white supremacy.
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