The Santa Clara County Youth Poet Laureate program is youth-centered program to celebrate literacy and self-literacy through poetry and connect young writers to opportunities for performances and community collaborations.
Each year, we will accept applications from talented Santa Clara County writers (ages 13-18) to join a community of young poets. The Laureate earns an educational scholarship. The Laureate will, and all the Finalists are invited to, serve as ambassadors for literacy, arts and youth expression with ongoing opportunities for performances, projects, and peer support.
Every applicant will be invited to stay in connection with the SCC Youth Poet Laureate community.
Santa Clara County
Youth Poet Laureate
Program
2026-2027
Santa Clara County
Youth Poet Laureate
SIERRA ELMAN
Sierra Elman is a poet from the San Francisco Bay Area and the 2024–2025 Burlingame-Hillsborough Youth Poet Laureate. She has been recognized by The Adroit Journal, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, Bow Seat Ocean Awareness, DePaul’s Blue Book: Best American High School Writing, and many more. An alumna of The Adroit Journal's Summer Mentorship Program and the Kenyon Review’s Young Writers Workshop, she is also the co-founder and editor-in-chief of international youth literary magazine Marmalade Lit. Outside of writing, she can be found playing the guitar or trying to get her dog to come when called.
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2026-2027
Santa Clara County
Youth Poet Laureate
ROHAN MAHAPATRA
Rohan Mahapatra is a high school student poet and Santa Clara County’s honorary Vice-Youth Poet Laureate for 2026-2027. Years of studying tabla have shaped his attention to rhythm and cadence, while his background in choir and musical theater informs the musicality and performative voice of his poetry. Beyond writing, he volunteers with programs serving neurodivergent individuals, experiences that continue to deepen his understanding of communication, patience, and artistic connection.
Rohan’s work often explores impermanence, family, and the ubiquity of loss. He is a two-time Scholastic Art & Writing Awards national silver medalist and was selected for the 2026 Adroit Writing Mentorship Program in poetry. His poems have been published in the National Federation of State Poetry Societies’ 2026 Youth Poetry Book and the 1455 Young Poets Anthology, both available on Amazon.com. He has
also received recognition from Voces de Sacramento and the Literacy in Place Rural Teen Writing Awards. Rohan developed his poetic foundations through the University of Massachusetts’ Juniper Institute for Young Writers and the University of the South’s Sewanee Young Writers’ Winter Conference. As a poetry editor for Eucalyptus Lit and a reporter in his school journalism program, he is continually interested in how language can preserve memory, foster empathy, and strengthen community.
Celebrating Youth at Intersection of Artistic Excellence & Civic Engagement.
GET STARTED
OUR PROGRAM
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The Santa Clara County Youth Poet Laureate program works with local youth literary arts schools and organizations across the county to identify and celebrate exceptional youth poets who use their voice to inspire change.
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Our program model supports local youth in autonomous projects such as anthologies, poetry workshops, and open mics. Collectively launching local young poet-activists into community organizing, and creating opportunities and resources to expand and elevate platforms for these youth poet laureates.
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This program is supported by the Poetry Center San Jose and in partnership with the National Youth Poet Laureate Program.
For me, poetry has always been both an excavation and a mirror:
a language that helps me understand myself and in turn, the world around me."
- Kurn Sundaram, '25-26 Santa Clara County Youth Poet Laureate
Address
Poetry Center San José
1650 Senter Road
San Jose, CA 95112-2599