On May 2nd, the National Youth Poet Laureate Program, a program curated by Urban Word NYC, named Evan Wang the 2025 National Youth Poet Laureate out of four regional finalists from across the nation. This title, made popular by Amanda Gorman, who was the first National Youth Poet Laureate and the inaugural poet for former President Biden’s Inauguration, is one of the highest honors for a young poet in the nation. All four regional finalists had the opportunity to perform their work at the National Youth Poet Laureate Commencement, which took place at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. Previously, Evan Wang served as the 9th Northeast Regional Youth Poet Laureate, and in 2022, the first Montgomery County Youth Poet Laureate. In his new role, Wang will be championing the youth poetry community across the country and promoting the intersection of poetry, activism, and various other disciplines.
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 Academy of American Poets, Poetry Society of America, PEN Center USA, Cave Canem, and the Library of Congress.
王潇/Evan Wang is the 2025 National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States and the author of Slow Burn (Northwestern University Press, 2026), winner of the Drinking Gourd Chapbook Poetry Prize. His work has appeared in POETRY Magazine, The Kenyon Review, Waxwing, and elsewhere, and has been featured at and recognized by the White House, Button Poetry, NPR, TEDx, and more. He is currently working on a new choral piece premiering in June 2026 by the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia at Rodeph Shalom, the oldest Ashkenazic synagogue in the Western Hemisphere.
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