The NYC Campaign Finance Board (CFB), its Voter Assistance Advisory Committee (VAAC), and Urban Word NYC held the 2012 New York City Youth Poet Laureate Program (YPL) Voter Slam Final on Saturday, November 5, 2011. Over 250 people attended the event held in the Great Hall at Cooper Union, which was hosted by Hot97's J. Medina. Out of the fourteen finalists who competed in the Final, Ishmael "Ish" Islam was named the 2012 Youth Poet Laureate for his winning poem, "Daydreaming at the Voting Booth."
Ish, a 19-year-old student at Kingsborough Community College, has participated in the program each of the past three years, and is a poet, MC, filmmaker, and graphic artist. He was one of the 2010 Brave New Voices Slam champions and placed third in the 2011 Knicks Poetry Slam. An award-winning producer of the short film, Departure from a Love, Ish is also half of the Brooklyn hip-hop duo HumUni (hyoom-yoo-ni) and has a one man show titled The Self Spell. As part of the 2011 Youth Poet Ambassador team, he represented the YPL program, the CFB, and the VAAC at several voter outreach events. When asked about his new role as the 2012 Youth Poet Laureate, Ish said, "I'm honored and excited to use my artistry to engage communities across the city to register to vote, vote in elections and become civically engaged."
From Ish's winning poem: "Everything we haven’t abused is pure/ The vote is pure/ Remember my friend/ The voice always grants us another chance/ To awaken.” For the rest of his poem, click here.
Urban Word NYC Executive Director Michael Cirelli said, "Ishmael Islam’s most recent accomplishment caps off four years of incredible service to Urban Word and to New York City teens. He has been a role model and youth leader who is fully deserving to represent New York City as the Youth Poet Laureate."
Director of Voter Assistance and co-founder of the program Onida Coward-Mayers said, "The Youth Poet Laureate program has helped to energize and educate New Yorkers on the importance of voting. We applaud the young poets for keeping voter participation relevant among their peers."
As the 2012 Youth Poet Laureate, Ish will appear throughout the five boroughs to perform, speak about the importance of voter participation, and conduct voter drives. Ish will also have a book of his poetry published. The other thirteen finalists will serve as Youth Poet Ambassadors conducting outreach to potential youth voters throughout the city.
"The fourteen poets who competed tonight have really brought our thinking about voting and civic engagement to a new level, and reminded us that the power of spoken word to inspire action is not to be underestimated. New York City is lucky to have the Youth Poet Ambassadors traveling the city to talk about the importance of voting and civic engagement," VAAC Chair Art Chang remarked.
Winner Ishmael Islam surrounded by the 2012 Youth Poet Ambassadors.
The YPL Program is a voting-themed teen competition designed to energize youth voters through spoken word poetry. The program sponsors workshops for participants, ages 16-19, to hone their writing skills and learn about voting and community leadership. More than 60 students participated in the program this year, and 23 were selected to compete in the semi-finals last month.
The YPL Program is a partnership between Urban Word NYC and the CFB. Urban Word NYC presents literary arts education and youth development programs in the areas of creative writing, journalism, college prep, literature, and hip-hop. It provides writing workshops to teens year-round and hosts the Annual Teen Poetry Slam.
The Youth Poet Laureate Program is sponsored by AT&T, ConEdison, Hot97 and the Rockefeller Foundation.
