Evan Wang named 9th Northeast Regional Youth Poet Laureate of the United States

On January 10th, the National Youth Poet Laureate Program, a program of Urban Word NYC, named Evan Wang, a senior at the Upper Merion Area High School, the 9th Northeast Regional Youth Poet Laureate of the United States, making him one of four finalists in the running for the National Youth Poet Laureate title. Evan was the 2022 Montgomery County Youth Poet Laureate and has been featured by The White House, TEDx, NPR, and many other organizations and publications. Evan will receive $1000, performance opportunities, and access to biweekly workshops. He, alongside three other regional finalists across the nation, will perform at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. on April 26th, where the 9th National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States will be named. 

The National Youth Poet Laureate Program (YPL) identifies, celebrates and honors teen poets who exhibit a commitment to not just artistic excellence but also civic engagement, youth leadership and social justice. YPL collaborates with local youth literary arts organizations across the country, as well as leading national literary organizations including the President’s Committee on the Arts & Humanities, the Academy of American Poets, Poetry Society of America, PEN Center USA, Cave Canem, and the Library of Congress. 

王潇/Evan Wang was the first Youth Poet Laureate of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. His work has been featured at and recognized by the White House, CDC, Button Poetry, NPR, TEDx, and more, and has been published in POETRY, The Kenyon Review, Waxwing, and elsewhere. Evan is the recipient of two National YoungArts Awards, a Scholastic National Gold Medal, and is a commended Foyle Young Poet of the Year. He has performed at various venues such as the U.S. Department of Education, Miami Book Fair, and the Free Library of Philadelphia, and was named the #1 youth slam poet in Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He serves as the editor-in-chief of Hominum Journal, one of the youngest appointed members of the Montgomery County Commission for LGBTQIA+ Affairs, and a member of the Indian Valley Arts Foundation Board of Directors.