Howard County Youth Poet Laureate Announced
Congratulations to Mai-Anh Nguyen, Howard County’s first Youth Poet Laureate!
Mai-Anh is a student at Oakland Mills High School and is involved in several activities, including the Youth Climate Institute, National Art Honors Society, and National Spanish Honor Society, as well as playing tennis and participating in theater. She won the Jack Chalker Young Writer’s Contest and was a finalist in both the Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest and the Bennington Young Writers Awards.
The Youth Poet Laureate, an honorary one-year position, was formally announced by County Executive Calvin Ball last month at an event attended by arts supporters and community members, hosted at Busboys & Poets in Columbia. Mai-Anh will act as an ambassador for literacy, arts, and youth expression by offering public readings at local civic events.
The Youth Poet Laureate and Poet Laureate programs are a partnership between the Office of County Executive Calvin Ball, Howard County Arts Council, and the Howard County Poetry and Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo). The Youth Poet Laureate was recommended by an esteemed panel of reviewers including Naomi Ayala, Steven Leyva, and Joseph Ross (bios are here). More information on the Youth Poet Laureate program is here. A video of the Youth Poet Laureate announcement can be viewed here.