After a successful inaugural year, the North American Review is pleased to continue the Cedar Valley Youth Poet Laureate program! Our first laureate, Lamya Pratchett from Waterloo East High School, won a scholarship and cash prize at the Commencement Performance in April 2024. The North American Review published one of her winning poems, “Chaotic Hindering Attributes Over-thinkers Suffer With,” on Open Space. Check out the coverage of her winning performance in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.
Based on the National Youth Poet Laureate Program, we are encouraging local students to participate. The goal is to identify and celebrate exceptional young poets who use their voice to inspire change. We believe that young people are capable of creating important works of art, and deserve a venue to both develop and share these works with the world.
This program is free and offers scholarships to the University of Northern Iowa. Teens aged 13-19 living in one of eight counties that comprise the Cedar Valley (Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Chickasaw, Fayette, Grundy, & Tama) are welcome. Additionally, participants may see their work published in the North American Review’s online publication: Open Space.
This year’s program starts with a writing workshop at UNI on Sunday, October 20, 2024 1pm-4pm. This is a generative workshop, with no critique, where we’ll help foster your creativity and nurture new work. Click the button below to register for the Fall Workshop.
The deadline to register is Wednesday, October 16, 2024 at 11:59pm.
Spring 2025 programming will include a writing workshop in mid to late February, a submission window to compete for the title of 2025 Cedar Valley Youth Poet Laureate open February 25-April 1, 2025, and a Commencement Program in later April, at which a panel of judges will name the winner after the finalists read their work. Specific dates and more information will be circulated early 2025.