Daly City Youth Poet Laureate

The Daly City Public Library Associates (DCPLA) launched the Daly City Youth Poet Laureate program in 2020.

In partnership with the National Youth Poet Laureate Program, Urban Word, and Daly City Public Library, the program celebrates teen poets who live or attend school in Daly City and exhibit a commitment to artistic excellence, civic engagement, leadership, and social justice.

San Mateo County’s poet laureate Aileen Cassinetto said Daly City’s youth program amplifies the role of youth in the community and the power of the literary arts in inspiring civic engagement. “I see the Youth Poet Laureate as the city’s literary ambassador, creating necessary spaces so that the voices of other young people can be heard,” Cassinetto said in a statement. “I see this role as giving shape to our young people’s hopes, fears, perspectives, sense of purpose, and sense of community.”

DCPLA executive director Victoria Magbilang said that one of her visions for the organization is to reach middle and high schoolers who are difficult to engage. “This program was a perfect way for DCPLA to remain relevant in a way that lends itself to distanced engagement while the libraries are closed and to encourage the arts in our community, something I’m extremely passionate about,” Magbilang said in a statement.

Inaugural Daly City Youth Poet Laureate Madeleine Hur was named Daly City Youth of the Year in 2021.