SC County Youth Poet Laureate

Santa Cruz Public Libraries, in partnership with Urban Word, celebrates local youth poets with the opportunity to serve as the Santa Cruz County Youth Poet Laureate. Youth poets will exhibit a commitment to artistic excellence, civic engagement and social justice. The Santa Cruz County Youth Poet Laureate will serve a one-year term and participate in several engagements throughout the year.

2024-2025 Santa Cruz County Youth Poet Laureate

Congratulations to Dina Lusztig Noyes who has been selected as the inaugural Santa Cruz County Youth Poet Laureate!

On April 10th, 2024, Santa Cruz County's first ever Youth Poet Laureate honor was given to Dina Lusztig Noyes at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, CA. SC County Youth Poet Laureate finalists include Gregory Souza, Simon Ellefson, Madeline Aliah, and Sylvi Kayser. During the inauguration ceremony, each youth poet performed several of their poems, demonstrating their unique voices and talents. The cohort will continue to be a team of artistic excellence and community engagement through poetry work.

Inaugural Santa Cruz County Youth Poet Laureate Dina Lusztig Noyes, center, with youth poet laureate finalists, from left: Gregory Souza, Simon Ellefson, Madeline Aliah and Sylvi Kayser during a celebration at Kuumbwa Jazz. Image credit Shmuel Thaler, Santa Cruz Sentinel

Meet This Year's Poets

Dina Lusztig, Youth Poet Laureate

Pacific Collegiate School

Dina Lusztig Noyes is an anxiety wracked but self-possessed high schooler who spends a lot of time in her own head. She writes poetry for the sake of showing other people the worlds in her head that she makes from her perceptions about her own life. She is currently a junior in high school and is increasingly anticipating going to college and being able to study the specific topics that fascinate her in even greater detail.

Sylvi Kayser, Finalist

Aptos High School

Sylvi Kayser is a poet focused on discovering herself. His writing is a reflection of how they see themself, his mind, and humanity. She has been writing all her life and found his love for poetry in eighth grade.

Simon Ellefson, Finalist

San Lorenzo Valley High School

Simon Ellefson is a poet and artist from the San Lorenzo Valley. He has 2 very silly cats, and loves sharing stories and ideas through creative expression.

Madeline Aliah, Finalist

Cypress High School

Madeline Aliah has been publishing poetry in the community since the age of 11. Her poetry chapbook, This Is My Body: Poems by a Teen Trans Fem, came out in January. She has found her voice as an advocate for Queer youth, and she is delivering a talk at TEDx Santa Cruz this Saturday.

Gregory Souza, Finalist

San Lorenzo Valley High School

Gregory Souza is a math obsessed poet who also writes some short stories and has co-written a few books. He can't wait to get out of high school although he loves his teachers and wants to continue creating and sharing his work.

Dina Lusztig Noyes will be Community Writers' featured reader in-person on Saturday, September 28 from 2:30- 4:30 pm at the Porter Memorial Library, 3050 Porter St., Soquel CA 95073

You are eligible to apply if:

• you live in Santa Cruz County
• you are between the ages of 13 and 18 on the day the application is due
• you are available to serve as Laureate for the program year, which means that you will live locally the whole year (April 2024 - April 2025).

The Youth Poet Laureate acts as an advocate and county ambassador for poetry, social action and civic engagement. They will champion their own poetic practice while also encouraging their peers to take part in the artform through readings, workshops and appearances at events and engagements throughout the county.

Youth poets will submit five (5) original poems along with other material to a panel of local judges. Each finalist will be asked to read one of their poems in person for the judges.

All finalists will receive a $100 cashhonorarium and the Youth Poet Laureate will receive a $500 cash  honorarium. All finalist will also receive a gift card donated by Two Birds Books.

Questions?

Please feel free to email Farnaz Fatemi, poetlaureate@santacruzpl.org

*If you're a teacher and you want to arrange a fall class visit about the Santa Cruz County Youth Poet Laureate, please feel free to reach out to Farnaz.*