Boston Youth Poet Laureate

The Youth Poet Laureate works with the City's Poet Laureate to celebrate and grow the role of poetry in young people’s lives across Boston and beyond.

Page Sections

The Boston Youth Poet Laureate (BYPL) is a writer and advocate who brings poetry to Boston’s classrooms, libraries, and neighborhoods through their work.

In this role, the BYPL performs original works at civic events, brings poetry into schools and libraries, leads a special interest project, and works closely with Boston’s current Poet Laureate, Emmanuel Oppong-Yeboah, to strengthen the City’s literary community.

Have questions? Contact:

Arts and Culture
617-635-4445
thomas.johnston@boston.gov
Media and Press Inquiries

Contact bonnie.rosenbaum@boston.gov

Events

Meet the Youth Poet Laureate

Ailin Sha

aILIN SHA

Youth Poet Laureate

Ailin Sha is a poet and writer based in Boston. Originally from Beijing, China, she moved to Boston with her mother and sister at age eleven. She attended Boston Latin School and is currently a first-year at Harvard College, where she plans to study English and Economics with a minor in Film. She is a member of the Harvard Advocate, the oldest continuously published college literary magazine in the United States, where she serves on the Poetry Board. She also plays the violin in the Bach Society Orchestra, the largest student-run orchestra at the college. In her free time, she loves to watch and discuss films, write, try new foods, and learn languages.

Former Youth Poets Laureate

Former Laureates

Anjalequa Leynneyah Verona Birkett

2022-2024 Youth Poet Laureate

Anjalequa was born and raised in Roxbury before moving to Roslindale. During her time as Poet Laureate, she was a student at the John D. O’Bryant School of Math & Science, where through the 826 Writers Room, she was given a space and community to truly hone and admire her love and technique for writing and poetry. Her cleverness and artistry stems from her own life experiences and wanting to connect with those around her. She has volunteered with organizations such as A-VOYCE and BARCC to spread awareness of social issues that impact her community and help make and be the blueprint for change. In everything she does she makes it her mission to express the feelings of people around her and her own, and create a bright, and better future ahead.

Anjalequa was named Boston's second-ever Youth Poet Laureate in February 2022.

Alondra Bobadilla

2020-2022 Youth Poet Laureate

Alondra Bobadilla was named Boston's first-ever Youth Poet Laureate in January of 2020. Through her work, she aspires to build bridges between different world views and unravel personal revelations of the bond between past and present, God’s providence, and the curious mundane. She is inspired by the beauty of transitory experiences and demonstrates how creative expression can be a powerful tool for youth to examine pressing topics and utilize their voice as a catalyst for social impact. She is the author of a collection of confessional-styled poems and journals entitled “With Clipped Wings”. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Alondra performed "A Home of My Own" during the City of Boston's Immigrant Heritage Month Virtual Celebration in June 2020. Watch the virtual celebration.

Alondra's Poems

Parker-Vincent Alva

2024-2026 Youth Poet Laureate

Parker-Vincent Alva is a student and writer from Boston, MA. He writes poetry and prose centering on the intersection of desire and identity. A 2023 YAWP Teen Fellow and the 3rd Youth Poet Laureate of Boston, he aims to increase public appreciation of literature and push the boundaries of what's possible. When he's not at his desk, you can find him destroying his kitchen trying to bake.