Category Archives: identity

Sierra Elman is a high school writer based in California. She is the former Youth Poet Laureate of Burlingame-Hillsborough and has been recognized by the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards among others. She is also the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Marmalade Lit. Her work has appeared in the Blue Marble Review and the Eunoia Review.Continue reading “Sierra Elman”

Ollie Ballard is the 2025-2026 Burlingame-Hillsborough Youth Poet Laureate. Artist Statement I started reading when I was very young. I remember being curled up in my room after preschool – door shut, curtains drawn – tiny hands flipping tiny pages as I sounded out words, teaching myself how the letters wove together to form somethingContinue reading “Ollie Ballard”

Andrada Tomisinet is a senior in high school and is currently serving as the 2024-25 South San Francisco Youth Poet-in-Residence. As a Romanian-American, Andrada uses poetry to explore her heritage, emotions, and memories of summers in Romania. In her poetry collection In Between Sunsets, she combines writing with visual art to share her culture andContinue reading “Andrada Tomisinet”

Elizabeth Wong is a senior in high school and served as South San Francisco’s 2023-24 Youth Poet-in-Residence. She has a passion for writing and drawing and combining the two by illustrating her own story ideas and concepts. Her poetry centers around identity and how cultural and personal identity intersect to form the human experience. ReadContinue reading “Elizabeth Wong”

In July 2023, the San Mateo County Office of Arts and Culture launched the Youth Cultural Ambassadors Pilot Program to encourage youth to: Seven Youth Ambassadors, including an Inaugural San Mateo County Youth Poetry Ambassador, were selected for a one-year term from July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024. They were tasked to develop andContinue reading “SMC Youth Ambassadors”

If you are between the ages of 13-18 and live in or attend school in Burlingame or Hillsborough, you are invited to apply to be the City of Burlingame and Town of Hillsborough’s Inaugural Youth Poet Laureate! The Burlingame-Hillsborough Youth Poet Laureate will receive $500 at the end of their term.​​​​ Read for more details.Continue reading “Burlingame Youth Poet Laureate”

These Hopeful Days A Community Poem by Menlo Park Rotary Scholars, curated by San Mateo County Poet Laureate Aileen Cassinetto (Prompt: “I Hope”) I hold on  to what springs eternal,  like a thing with feathers perching on a twig,  on the lookout for an audacity of red- hued daylilies.  I hope for my furry friend Continue reading “Menlo Park Rotary Scholars”

Hanna Docampo Pham is 14 years old and goes to Westmoor High School. They love writing poetry, writing stories, and creating art. Poem on Belonging BURIED SPRING In dedication to Colma, believed to mean Spring in Ohlone what if we could stop the construction because the hundreds of glittering windows was less than the landContinue reading “Hanna Docampo Pham”

“My name is Marlo Cowan. I’m currently a tenth grader, and in my free time I like to read, draw, and play guitar and flute. Poetry inspires me because I consider it to be the most visceral form of writing; you have the ability to contain a story within a few lines and still tellContinue reading “Marlo Cowan”

“Hi, my name is Julianne. I like writing poetry because there’s always a sense of fun in it, and I like writing silly ones that make my family laugh. I also like writing meaningful ones that really mean a lot in the world. What inspired this poem was a story about an immigrant that getsContinue reading “Julianne Cheng”