What is a Poet Laureate?
A laureate is someone who has been honored with an award for academic or intellectual achievement. A Poet Laureate is a distinguished poet selected to serve a particular community or institution by promoting and composing poems for various occasions (e.g. Amanda Gorman delivering The Light We Carry at the 2021 Presidential Inauguration).
BB&N's Poet Laureate
The BB&N Poet Laureate will promote a love and appreciation of poetry in the BB&N community by sharing poems at various school gatherings throughout the year, and planning poetry related events and workshops. The ideal Poet Laureate candidate is not just a gifted poet, but also a motivated student leader.
Submission Details
Students grades 9-11
The Poet Laureate we select at the end of the school year will serve the school the following academic year. This means we cannot accept submissions from current seniors.
Poet Laureate Application
The application will require you to respond thoughtfully to several questions. We are looking for students who display strong leadership characteristics and demonstrate the ability to take initiative to plan programs to promote poetry throughout the year.
Poetry Submissions
You will be required to upload 2 original poems of any length or style with your application. You may submit poems in a language other than English, but it must be accompanied by an English translation. You may also submit audio recordings of your poems if they are intended to be experienced orally. Any audio recordings must be accompanied by a transcription.