The Dallas Public Library is calling all youth poets for its annual Express Yourself! competition that will name the Youth Poet Laureate of Dallas and give the winner a $1,000 scholarship.
Designed to support the literary talents of young Dallasites, the competition serves as a counterpart to the Poet Laureate of Dallas, which was created earlier this year by the Dallas Public Library, the Office of Arts and Culture, and Deep Vellum.
The youth contest that provides an avenue for young poets to amplify their voices is accepting applications from Sept. 20 to Jan. 31, 2022.
Eligible candidates must reside within the City of Dallas or attend a school within city limits. They must also be between the ages of 13 and 18 on May 1, 2022, the start of the laureate term. For more information, visit www.dallaslibrary.org/poetry.
Dallas’ Youth Poet Laureate program names poets for a one-year term and includes publication of the writer’s work in the annual Express Yourself! Anthology. Laureates also participate in public readings and other Express Yourself! events.
The Express Yourself! program, which includes poetry and art contests, is open to Dallas poets and artists in grades 2 through 12. Sixty poetry finalists will have their work published in the bound anthology, and ten art finalists will have their work printed on the cover and inside pages of the collection. Overall and grade-level winners are announced at the April award ceremony. Entries can be submitted through the website.
Both the Youth Poet Laureate of Dallas and the Express Yourself! Youth Poetry Competition and Cover Art Contest are funded by the Dealey Family Foundation, the Friends of the Dallas Public Library, and the Dallas Public Library.