Page 4
M artin L uther K ing J r .
2016 special edition
January 13, 2016
Uplifting and Empowering Young Voices
Portland debuts
Youth Poet
Laureates
o livia o livia
t he P ortland o bserver
Portland’s first ever youth
poet laureates are benefiting
from the work of local profes-
sional artists and writers who
have made it their mission to
uplift young and traditionally
marginalized voices.
The two winners are both
north Portland high school stu-
dents who say they’ve been em-
powered by their new title, and
vow to represent the city’s bur-
geoning literary scene in their
own ways.
The contest and recognition
comes thanks to Spit/Write, a
play on the hip-hop term to spit
or shout out rhymes, an organi-
zation formed by local writer
and educator S. Reneé Mitch-
ell, other professional artists
and Portland’s Artists Reperto-
ry Theater. Together they are in
partnership with Urban World,
by
C ontinued on P age 9
Photo by a drian M itChell P hotograPhy
Sekai Edwards of Jefferson High School (left) and Alexis Cannard of Roosevelt High tie for Portland Youth Portland Laureate.