CINCINNATI, Ohio – WordPlay Cincy is pleased to announce Gabrielle Walker as the 2023-2024 Youth Poet Laureate of Cincinnati. A rising senior at The Seven Hills School, Ms. Walker is the second Youth Poet Laureate, succeeding Ms. Rimel Kamran, of Mason, Ohio, and a rising freshman at The Ohio State University. Ms. Walker was selected by a committee of experts in the sectors of creative youth leadership, library sciences, literary arts, secondary, post-secondary, and graduate education, and community arts.
With more than triple the application submissions this year, Ms. Walker’s application offered distinction in its unique perspective on the ways in which poetry lends itself to community engagement, as well as through the eloquence of her own poetry, which, with urgency and nuance, examines identity along the lines of Cameroonian-American heritage, race, gender, nationality, ethnicity, class and the sense of belonging.
Among her achievements, Ms. Walker has received awards in the state-wide speed writing competition, Power of the Pen, and the National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. This past summer, she received a national gold medal for her essay, “How to make ends meet”: Metamorphosis and Safeguarding Tradition in Jamaica Kincaid’s ‘Girl.’”
Upon receiving the news of her laureateship appointment, Ms. Walker remarks “When I first found out that I won the Youth Poet Laureate Competition, I was shocked, almost to the point of denial! While eating breakfast, I opened my email and I thought, ‘was I really selected?!’” Because we were out of the state at the time, I waited until we got home to show my family the good news! I know that there are so many talented poets in the city, so it was a surreal experience.”
The committee would also like to acknowledge this year’s second place finalist is Ms. Carmen Foster, a rising senior at School for Performing and Creative Arts, while the third place finalist is Ms. Nola Stowe, a rising senior at Walnut Hills High School.
The Cincinnati Youth Poet Laureate program is a creative writing and civic engagement out-of-school competition that aims to identify youth writers and leaders who are committed to community service through poetry, performance, and social justice. This program offers opportunities to gain special access to mentoring opportunities, leadership development, and a diversity of performance engagements.
For over ten years, WordPlay Cincy, a grassroots-founded nonprofit organization, has sparked storytelling through writing, performance and visual arts with Cincinnati’s young people by celebrating their strengths, cultivating belonging and fueling social impact all in a safe, inclusive and inspiring place.
