Montgomery County Poets Laureate
The Annual Montgomery Poet Laureate Competition is the foundation upon which the MCPL Program was built. The competition is the ultimate expression of the program’s mission; creating an ever expanding community of poets, supporting their work and providing opportunities for poets to elevate their visibility while also benefiting the community with their service project, many of which continue long beyond their tenure.
How does the competition work?
Each year MCPL recruits a celebrity poet with a national reputation, who along with two additional local Delaware Valley poets, adjudicate the submitted manuscripts.
The newly selected Montgomery County Poet Laureate is honored with an award in the amount of $500 along with a personalized statement about their work, which is shared through MCPL and other local organizations.
The Award is presented during an Award Ceremony and Reading, open to the public and attended by the celebrity judge and previous poets laureate to read with and welcome the newest member of their esteemed ranks.
Who can compete?
Poets of all ages and backgrounds are encouraged to submit their poetry for review and adjudication in the annual competition. Poets must also be residents of Montgomery County. The window for submissions generally opens in early December and closes mid-February with the winner to be announced at the end of March.
The role of the Poet Laureate
The Poet Laureate functions as an ambassador for poetry in Montgomery County from April 1 of the year of his/her naming to March 31st of the following year. This role includes working with MCPL’s Executive Director, Joanne Leva, to develop a schedule of readings, workshops
Appearances may include the Forgotten Voices Poetry Group, Farley’s Bookshop First Thursday Poetry Reading Series, and the annual Caesura Poetry Festival. They may also hold the office of “
Evan Wang Named 2025 National Youth Poet Laureate
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.
2025 MCPL Judge Shawn R. Jones
Shawn R. Jones was born in Hartford, Connecticut and grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She is...
Poets Laureate
