"When I'm prepping for a performance, I think of ways that I can accentuate certain aspects of the poem. I really want to have fluctuation; it should never be monotone. Which word you choose to stress within the poem redefines the meaning."
"That just really motivated me to continue writing about my own experiences, because I realized how quickly a poem about myself can become a poem for others and can be about others."
Harvard College currently has three National Youth Poet Laureates: Evan Wang '29, Salome Agbaroji '27, and Alyssa Gaines '26, continuing a legacy started by Amanda Gorman '20. Evan Wang, the current National Youth Poet Laureate for 2025-2026, approaches poetry as a performance art, carefully considering vocal delivery, hand gestures, and word stress to enhance meaning. His debut chapbook "Slow Burn" is forthcoming, and he is collaborating with a composer on a choral piece premiering in June. Wang began pursuing poetry seriously in 2021 after writing about racial microaggressions, discovering how personal narratives resonate universally. The three laureates discuss balancing artistic pursuits with academic responsibilities and how their poetry has evolved during their Harvard experience.
#poetry-and-performance #national-youth-poet-laureates #harvard-college #personal-narrative-and-identity #arts-and-academics
Read at Harvard Gazette
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