2024 Youth Poetry Summit Recap
Harmony Devoe | photo: Drew Frazier
On Friday November 22, Sundog Poetry joined together with the Flynn to host the Youth Poetry Summit. Six High Schools from various parts of Vermont including Harwood Union, Hazen Union, Rice Memorial, Winooski, Lyndon Institute and CVU, gathered for the day to share their passion for poetry.
As some 60 kids filed their way into the low lit FlynnSpace, they were met with the luminosity of the workshop leaders. Dr. Jolivette Anderson-Douoning, a professor in the history department at Saint Michael's College, notably set the stage for the first early morning workshop of the event. Beautifully connecting poetry and history, Dr. Anderson-Douoning exhibited the communication of poetry through generations from “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou, to Kendrick Lamar's music video “Not Like Us.” Students were able to connect with their inner voices as Dr. Anderson-Douoning had everyone standing, dancing, and even singing the poems to emphasize page-to-stage, preparing students for the slam poetry activity.
Other workshop leaders such as Geoff Hewitt also started the morning off with fast-paced writing that pushed students to just put anything down on the page, forcing them out of writing with limitations.
These workshops helped to prepare students for the afternoon slam poetry event, and instill techniques for future events connected to Poetry Out Loud and the Vermont Youth Poet Laureate program. Sundog is thrilled to be partnering with the Flynn Center for the first time to make the Youth Poetry Summit possible, and looks forward to continuing the event in 2025.
“The way all students present encouraged each other and shared their authentic selves was truly inspirational.”
The Flynn holds a special place for youth poets around Vermont by creating a community of writers and holding the statewide recitation competition Poetry Out Loud. The Youth Poetry Summit also shines a light on Sundog Poetry’s most recent partnership with Urban Word and the National Youth Poet Laureate program. The Vermont Youth Poet Laureate program recognizes young poets' writing and commitment to artistic excellence and civic engagement. The 2025 competition registration will be held in February and the winners receive opportunities to perform locally and attend national workshops and convenings with some of America’s leading poets. The Youth Poet Laureate represents a powerful role of leadership and social impact, and is a title that holds amazing opportunity.
Photo courtesy of the Flynn Center
After a lunch provided by American Flatbread, students had another workshop to attend with instructors like Sophia Cirignano, a Montreal-based teacher and poet with works in Headlight Anthology and Moist Poetry Journal, or Sam Boudreau, a Vermont writer having featured work in Scrawl Place and Miniskirt Magazine. These workshop leaders, including Larissa Hebert, an English teacher at Rice Memorial High School and poet with works published in journals like Northern New England Review and Off the Coast, opened space for students to create pieces for the slam poetry event. Hebert even handed out objects like a meat grinder, which one student wrote a poem on and recited in the open mic later on that day, leaving everyone smiling at their creative endeavor.
The open mic activity is a very important opportunity for students to share their hearts. Students really captured a connection with their peers and some recitations did not leave a dry eye. Vermont Teacher of the Year Caitlin Macleod-Bluver, a Winooski High School teacher shares “ I was blown away by my students bravery to share their voices with an audience of strangers.” Students were eager from the start to share their pieces and eventually a line developed of individuals ready to be vulnerable. The stage featured the first Vermont Youth Poet Laureate, Harmony Belle Devoe who shared her piece titled “Almond Eyes,” a powerful and lyrical poem that weaves together expressions on personal heritage with rich imagery and metaphor.
The end of the day was met with cheers and a deeper feeling of community. Tammie Ledoux Moody, a Burlington High School teacher shares “It was an awe-inspiring experience to watch so many young people brought together in one space like this. The way all students present encouraged each other and shared their authentic selves was truly inspirational.”
Sundog Poetry hopes to spread their Youth Poetry Summit Program to more schools for the 2025 event, and along with that continue holding space for youth to grow in their love of writing.
