Announcing the 2026 Berkeley Youth Poet Laureates

Contact: Aimee Reeder 
Communications Manager
Berkeley Public Library
510.495.4175
areeder@berkeleyca.gov

Announcing the 2026 Berkeley Youth Poet Laureates:
Youth Poet Laureate, Nolawit Ketema, and Vice Youth Poet Laureate, Rachel Dunn 

Berkeley, California (January 14, 2026) – The Berkeley Public Library is pleased to announce Berkeley’s 2026 Youth Poet Laureate, Nolawit Ketema, and Vice Youth Poet Laureate, Rachel Dunn. This is the 3rd year the Library has offered a Berkeley Youth Poet Laureate program. 

Ketema commented on her work:

Writing, especially poetry, is how I make sense of emotions and experiences I don’t yet know how to say out loud. Poetry shouldn’t demand perfection or expertise, only openness. If even one piece makes someone feel seen, understood, or less alone, then the words have done what they were meant to do.

At a well-attended reception and poetry reading in the Central Library’s ground floor teen room last night, community members gathered to celebrate with Ketema and Dunn. 
Many poets performed including:

  • 2025 Berkeley Youth Poet Laureate, Anita Marie Julca
  • 2025 Vice Youth Poet Laureate, Adalilly Chu
  • Contest Judges Aditi Malhotra and Zac Farber
  • Finalists: 
    • Addis Orr, Berkeley High School Freshman
    • Ella Pollard, Saint Mary’s College High School Senior
    • Max Trautman, Berkeley High School Freshman
  • Winners:
    • Nolawit Ketema, Berkeley High School Freshman
    • Rachel Dunn, Berkeley High School Freshma

Librarian Robyn Sweet notes of the celebration:

It was an incredible evening with so many very talented teens. I think my favorite part was seeing the teens cheering each other on. The feeling of support and positivity in the room was a real highlight, despite the heavy themes of the some of the poems. Hearing teens' takes on current events and listening to them express the emotions they are feeling was really powerful.

Youth applicants who live and/or attend school in Berkeley applied to be Youth Poet Laureate throughout September and October 2025. Entries were reviewed in November and December 2025 by an esteemed panel of judges including: 

  • Kim Shuck, 7th Poet Laureate of San Francisco Emerita
  • Zac Farber, Editor-in-Chief of Berkeleyside
  • Professor Kent Puckett, UC Berkeley Professor of Critical Theory, Narrative & the Novel and 19th-Century British literature, Poetry, and Film
  • Sabrina “Sab” Kim, Phi Alpha Theta Cal Student and co-president and Editor-in-Chief of the Berkeley Poetry Review
  • William Rumelhart, co-president and co-editor of the Berkeley Poetry Review.
  • Aditi Malhotra, accomplished journalist and spoken word artist

To read the 2026 chapbook (collection of poetry) by entrants and learn more about the winners and the Youth Poet Laureate program, please click here. 

The Library’s program is in partnership with the National Youth Poet Laureate Program that uplifts youth voices committed to artistic excellence, civic engagement and social impact. Additional community partners for the Library’s program include community partners the City of Berkeley Civic Arts Commission and Berkeley Public Schools.

To stay abreast of upcoming poet laureate workshops and events - including those in collaboration with the City of Berkeley’s Adult Poet Laureate for 2026–27 Hanan Masri - by subscribing to the “Library Happenings” e- newsletter and checking the Library’s online event calendar.

For interviews, photos and detailed questions about the Youth Poet Laureate program, please contact Communications Manager Aimee Reeder at areeder@berkeleyca.gov or 510.495.4175.

For general questions about the Youth Poet Laureate program email youthpoet@berkeleyca.gov.

For questions about additional Library events, services, hours and locations, please call (510) 981-6100 or visit the Library’s website www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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