Teen Poet Reframes Justice System Through Incarcerated Voices
Ms., June 22, 2022: Teen Poet Reframes Justice System Through Incarcerated Voices
“It was a warm Bay Area day last May when Anouk Yeh found out via a Zoom call that she would become Santa Clara County’s inaugural youth poet laureate. Surrounded by mentors and friends, Yeh, a senior at Saratoga High School, felt emotional—‘Yeah, I cried!’—and exhilarated. Once the shock wore off, she got to work.
“Now, as her term comes to a close, Yeh is proud of the megaphone she’s given to incarcerated youth through weekly poetry workshops on Zoom.
“‘As young people, it can feel like when we’re voicing our opinions, they are falling into the void, and no one really hears,’ she said. ‘But I really hope that at least the one takeaway the students can have is that writing can always be an outlet for them to express their voice.’”
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