identity – Page 4 – Speak Poetry in San Mateo County

Ronit Das

Ronit Das is currently in 7th grade and was the youngest finalist in the 2020 Housing Leadership Council Youth Poetry Competition. His work is published in the anthology, I Have a Dream: Inaugural Poems for a New Generation (2021). He is also featured in the program, “Celebrating Young Poets,” produced by The Midpen Media CenterContinue reading “Ronit Das “

Lauren Lin

Lauren Lin is the Inaugural Burlingame-Hillsborough Youth Poet Laureate and San Mateo County Youth Poetry Ambassador. She is a two-time Youth Speaks poetry slam winner who weaves passions, beliefs, and emotions into her work. Lin’s poetry has received awards from YoungArts, Literary Legacies, and the MLK Step into the Light youth arts contest. Lin foundedContinue reading “Lauren Lin “

Chloe Chou

Chloe Chou is the 2022-23 Daly City Youth Poet Laureate and the 2022-23 South San Francisco Youth Poet-in-Residence. A South City resident, she is currently a freshman at Westmoor High School in Daly City. Her passions are coding and writing. In her free time, she likes to make mixtapes! In 2020, she published a book calledContinue reading “Chloe Chou”

Eva Chen

Eva Chen is a 16-year-old poet, photographer and social justice activist. Her writing has been recognized in the Scholastic Arts and Writing Competition and published in The Weight Journal, Catcher Zine, and Cathartic Literary Magazine. She co-founded Footprints on Jupiter, a teen literary magazine, to raise funds for the World Literacy Foundation. In the summer of 2021, she volunteeredContinue reading “Eva Chen “

Housing Leadership Council

In 2020, the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County in collaboration with San Mateo County Poet Laureate Aileen Cassinetto launched the first countywide Youth Poetry & Art Competition to encourage young people to explore their notion of home and to raise awareness of Affordable Housing Month. Given the continuing housing crisis in the BayContinue reading “Housing Leadership Council”

Madeleine Hur

Madeleine Hur is a 17 year-old poet from Daly City, California. She is the first Daly City Youth Poet Laureate, a program supported by the Daly City Public Library Associates, and the first Youth Poet Laureate in San Mateo County. Currently a Senior at Oceana High School in Pacifica, she represents her school as aContinue reading “Madeleine Hur”

Keiki Leni Ward

“My name is Keiki Leni Ward. I’m a spoken word poet and former student at Ravenswood Middle School. I write about my history and heritage, my environment, my community, and my hopes as a young woman of color. I have entered different poetry contests and have had my work featured by the Ravenswood Education FoundationContinue reading “Keiki Leni Ward”