Youth Poetry Summit
Poetry Workshop Leaders
Sam Boudreau
MC
Sam grew up in St. Albans, VT and is a Middlebury College alumni. He holds an MFA in poetry from the University of Montana and has taught undergraduate composition courses and poetry workshops. He frequently returns to the classroom to share his love of poetry with young people. When writing, his work generally centers around queer intimacy, the environment, sociopolitical issues, and food. His poems can be found in miniskirt magazine and Scrawl Place (to name a few).
Jolivette Anderson-Douoning
WORKSHOP LEAD
Jolivette Anderson-Douoning, PhD, is the Director of the Institute of Equity and Justice. Jolivette brings a wealth of experience in issues of equity and justice through her work with Dr. Robert “Bob” Moses and the Algebra Project as well as her involvement in connecting students at every level of education with the rich history of African Americans across the United States and the African Diaspora. Her work, described as bridging “history, education, and the lived experiences of Black people to the human experience we all share,” brings a perspective to the Institute grounded in the fight for racial justice in the United States and internationally.
Larissa Hebert
WORKSHOP LEAD
Larissa Hebert is a high school English teacher at Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington. She has had poetry published in several publications including the Northern New England Review, Off the Coast and the Knock Literary Journal. Larissa grew up in Wayne, ME and attended the University of Vermont, where she double majored in German and English. She then received her Master's in Comparative Literature from Dartmouth College. While at UVM, Larissa spent a semester abroad at Heidelberg University in Heidelberg, Germany. Larissa lives in Fairfield with her daughter, Ella, and husband, Thomas.
Sean Prentiss
WORKSHOP LEAD
Jenny Land Mackenzie lives in Craftsbury and runs the poetry and creative writing programs at St. Johnsbury Academy. She studied creative writing at Dartmouth College, the University of Oxford, and the University of St. Andrews. She has published a young adult novel and many poems.
Jenny Land Mackenzie
WORKSHOP LEAD
Sean Prentiss is the author of Finding Abbey: The Search for Edward Abbey and His Hidden Desert Grave, which won the National Outdoor Book Award. He has also written Crosscut: Poems and co-written two textbooks, Environmental and Nature Writing and Advanced Creative Nonfiction. He is the co-editor of The Science of Story: The Brain Behind Creative Nonfiction. His next book of poetry, Majella: Poems from a Mountain Home, is expected to be published in 2027. He is a professor at Norwich University. He and his family live on a small lake in northern Vermont.
Rebecca Starks
WORKSHOP LEAD
Rebecca Starks is the author of the poetry collections Fetch, Muse and Time Is Always Now, a finalist for the Able Muse Book Award. Her poems and short fiction have appeared in Sixth Finch, Baltimore Review, Valparaiso Review, Crab Orchard Review, Epiphany, Best Small Fictions, and elsewhere. A recipient of CRAFT’s 2023 Flash Prose Prize, Rattle’s Neil Postman Award for Metaphor and Poetry Northwest’s Richard Hugo Prize, she is a founding editor of Mud Season Review and a former Sundog Poetry board member. The mother of two teens and a toddler, she works as a writing consultant and has led workshops for students of all ages. She lives in Richmond, VT.
The Experience
Interested in attending the Youth Poetry Summit?
Kenzie Ribera, writer for The Knight’s Banner and intern at Sundog Poetry, attended the 2024 Summit as both a participant and reporter. Read her 2024 recap to get an inside view of the day’s activities and vibes.
General Info
This full-day event features immersive workshops with dynamic and celebrated poets, freewriting time, lunch, and an open mic session.
Schedule details forthcoming
Questions?
Presented in partnership with the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
