Help Young Poets Find Their Voice

In the face of natural disasters in Los Angeles and lingering social anxiety, poetry has become a refuge for students. Meg Hamill, executive director of California Poets in the Schools (CalPoets), explains the organization’s mission: to establish a statewide network of professional poets who engage with local communities, empowering young voices through literary arts. Founded in 1964, CalPoets reaches K-12 students across California through literary arts residencies that integrate reading, writing, and performance.

Hamill emphasizes CalPoets’ focus on fostering literacy while allowing students to explore their lives and confront real-world challenges. Serving 1,500 youth annually across 20 schools in predominantly marginalized neighborhoods of Los Angeles County, the program addresses pressing issues like ecological disasters and mental health isolation. “Poetry allows young people to find their voice, feel what they need to talk about, and then say it out loud,” Hamill says. Classes involve sharing work aloud, creating a “safe container” for empathy and listening. 

CalPoets stands out by employing local, professional poets as teaching artists. These experts introduce model texts from renowned poets, often local or reflecting the community’s diversity, as stepping stones for students to learn techniques such as metaphor, simile, and personification. These residencies, spanning five to 12 weeks during school hours or in extracurricular settings like libraries, culminate in capstone events where families have the opportunity to witness performances. Additionally, publications are distributed as community gifts, and an annual statewide anthology is published.

Amanda Gorman, the inaugural National Youth Poet Laureate, embodies the program’s potential. In 2013-2014, she honed her craft in a Saturday workshop and she has been published in their statewide anthologies and presented at their annual conference. CalPoets supports Poetry Out Loud competitions and youth poet laureate programs, creating a pipeline from student to professional.

As local arts funding dwindles due to contracting California Arts Council budgets and resource allocation to basic needs, CalPoets faces challenges. Foundations are merging arts grants with general funds, pitting poetry against homelessness aid. Despite this, the organization aims to double its L.A. presence in five years, expanding to more schools amid growing demand from eager poets, educators, and students.

In a remarkable story from a San Fernando Middle School residency, a seventh-grade newcomer from Mexico, who was illiterate in any language and still learning English, dictated a poem in Spanish about his experiences and trauma. When the principal acknowledged his poem in a published book, the student was visibly overcome with pride and emotion.

“This type of experience and recognition really can change a kid’s life,” Hamill says. Through CalPoets, not only is literacy fostered, but isolation is also transformed into connection, one verse at a time.