Youth Poet Laureate Says He's Inspired by Being a Young African American in Oakland

By Bay City News Service

Oakland's newest youth poet laureate is no stranger to the written word — Obasi Davis has been creating and performing his poetry since he was a young boy and is eager to share his art with his community in the coming year.

Davis, a longtime Oakland resident and senior at Berkeley High School, was named the city's youth poet laureate after edging out other candidates at a competition held through the public library earlier this month.

He then headed to Chicago to compete as part of the Bay Area group at Brave New Voices, an international teen poetry slam and festival through Youth Speaks. His team won second place at the competition, he said upon his return to Oakland this week.

Back in the Bay Area, he is ready to launch into a busy senior year as an ambassador for literacy, arts and youth involvement on behalf of the city.

As youth poet laureate, the 17-year-old will earn a $5,000 educational scholarship and perform at the city's annual poetry competition, and also attend year-round workshops, other public events, work on publishing his work, and mentor other young writers.

The poet, who started writing when he was 5 years old, said his interest blossomed when he entered a poetry slam when he was 13.

Since he was in the seventh grade he has attended writing workshops at the public library.

"I try to be versatile in whatever I develop," Davis said. "I don't only want to write about the same thing."

He said he writes about things he knows and that living in Oakland inspires him.

"The main thing that really inspires me is being a young African-American in Oakland and what that means," he said.

In the coming year, Davis said, he is most excited about working with renowned poets and putting together a published collection of his work.

Davis aspires to be a chef and own his own restaurant — he has even written poems about cooking — and hopes to attend a performance arts program through scholarship at the University of Wisconsin at Madison where he can pursue a combination of his interests.

When school starts again on Aug. 28, he thinks his friends, classmates and teachers will be excited about his new title — although he predicted his English teacher would care the most.

"People know at school that I've been doing poetry," he said. "They wouldn't be surprised. They'll be happy."

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