Young People's Poet Laureate is a position and award that was established by the Poetry Foundation in 2006. The position is to promote children's poetry in the United States. [1] The organization changed the name from Children's Poet Laureate to capture a broader range of ages.
Term | Laureate | Ref. |
---|---|---|
2006 – 2008 | Jack Prelutsky | [2] |
2008 – 2011 | Mary Ann Hoberman | [3] [4] |
2011 – 2012 | J. Patrick Lewis | [5] |
2013 – 2015 | Kenn Nesbitt | [6] |
2015 – 2017 | Jacqueline Woodson | [7] [8] |
2017 – 2019 | Margarita Engle | [9] |
2019 – 2021 | Naomi Shihab Nye | [10] |
2022 | Elizabeth Acevedo | [11] |
The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first presented in 1922, and is given for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author, published during the preceding calendar year.
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) of Arezzo were the first to be crowned poets laureate after the classical age, respectively in 1315 and 1342. In Britain, the term dates from the appointment of Bernard André by Henry VII of England. The royal office of Poet Laureate in England dates from the appointment of John Dryden in 1668.
Dame Carol Ann Duffy is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, resigning in 2019. She was the first female poet, the first Scottish-born poet and the first openly lesbian poet to hold the Poet Laureate position.
The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is an international children's literary award established by the Swedish government in 2002 to honour the Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren (1907–2002). The prize is five million SEK, making it the richest award in children's literature and one of the richest literary prizes in the world. The annual cost of 10 million SEK is financed with tax money.
Children's Laureate, now known as the Waterstones Children's Laureate, is a prestigious position awarded in the United Kingdom once every two years to a "writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field." The role promotes the importance of children’s literature, reading, creativity and storytelling while promoting the right of every child to enjoy a lifetime of books and stories. Each Laureate uses their tenure to focus on an aspect of children’s books – these have included poetry, storytelling, readers with disabilities and illustration.
Donald Andrew Hall Jr. was an American poet, writer, editor and literary critic. He was the author of over 50 books across several genres from children's literature, biography, memoir, essays, and including 22 volumes of verse. Hall was a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Harvard, and Oxford. Early in his career, he became the first poetry editor of The Paris Review (1953–1961), the quarterly literary journal, and was noted for interviewing poets and other authors on their craft.
Children's poetry is poetry written for, appropriate for, or enjoyed by children.
Kenn Nesbitt is an American children's poet. On June 11, 2013, he was named Children's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. He was the last one to receive this title before the Poetry Foundation changed its name to Young People's Poet Laureate.
Tracy K. Smith is an American poet and educator. She served as the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2017 to 2019. She has published five collections of poetry, winning the Pulitzer Prize for her 2011 volume Life on Mars. Her memoir, Ordinary Light, was published in 2015.
Jacqueline Woodson is an American writer of books for children and adolescents. She is best known for Miracle's Boys, and her Newbery Honor-winning titles Brown Girl Dreaming, After Tupac and D Foster, Feathers, and Show Way. After serving as the Young People's Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017, she was named the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, by the Library of Congress, for 2018 to 2019. She was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2020.
The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from Poetry magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Ruth Lilly.
National Ambassador for Young People's Literature is a literary honor presented bi-annually by the Library of Congress to an author or illustrator who is a U.S. citizen and who has made a substantial contribution to young people's literature. The position was established in 2008. More than receiving an award, during their tenure ambassadors help communicate to children about books and reading, so the selection criteria include being an effective communicator, having a dynamic personality and the ability to work with children. The position is modeled on the British Children's Laureate, which was established in 1999. The position is currently sponsored by the Center for the Book and the Children's Book Council. The ambassadorship includes a $15,000 expense stipend. A similar honor is awarded bi-annually by the Poetry Foundation for the Young People's Poet Laureate.
The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate, serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry. The position was modeled on the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom. Begun in 1937, and formerly known as the Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, the present title was devised and authorized by an Act of Congress in 1985. Appointed by the Librarian of Congress, the poet laureate's office is administered by the Center for the Book. For children's poets, the Poetry Foundation awards the Young People's Poet Laureate.
Mary Ann Hoberman is an American author of over 30 children's books.
Show Way is a 2005 children's picture book by American author Jacqueline Woodson with illustrations by Hudson Talbott. The book was made into a film in 2012 by Weston Woods Studios, Inc., narrated by the author. It recounts the stories of seven generations of African-Americans and is based on the author's own family history. Show Way was a John Newbery Medal Honor Book in 2006 and was featured in Reading Rainbow that same year in the series finale.
Brown Girl Dreaming is a 2014 adolescent verse novel by author Jacqueline Woodson. It discusses the author's childhood as an African American growing up in the 1960s in South Carolina and New York. It was awarded the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Coretta Scott King Book Award, and an NAACP Image Award for outstanding literary work.
Erika L. Sánchez is an American poet and writer. She is the author of poetry collection Lessons on Expulsion and a young adult novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, a 2017 finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. She was a professor at DePaul University.
Poet Laureate of Philadelphia is a civic position in the City of Philadelphia. The Poet Laureate has been described as an "Ambassador of Poetry". The holder of the position is expected to actively promote literacy and encourage expression in the city. As part of their position, they participate in service work, workshops and readings. One of their commitments is to mentor the Youth Poet Laureate of Philadelphia.
The National Youth Poet Laureate is a title held in the United States by a young person who demonstrates skill in the arts, particularly poetry and/or spoken word, is a strong leader, is committed to social justice, and is active in civic discourse and advocacy. It is a title awarded annually to one winner among four finalists, most of whom have been chosen as the Poet Laureate for their city and region.