AC Library Announces 2023 Alameda County Youth Poet Laureate Winners

ALAMEDA COUNTY — The Alameda County Library announced the winners of the 2023 Alameda County Youth Poet Laureate competition during a community event held at the Cherryland Community Center Friday, Aug. 25, and two students, one from Dublin and a the other from Albany took home top honors.

Brian Guan of Dublin and Sunwoo Eom of Albany won the competition which was open to Alameda County teens ages 13-18.

Guan, who was named the 2023 Youth Poet Laureate, is a poet and editor-in-chief of The Dungeness Press, a Bay Area teen literary magazine whose poetry explores the connection and humanity of art, advocacy, and education.

"Poetry is a medium of humanity," Guan explained. "It is emotion distilled into words and line breaks. It just has to be honest. Poetry is empathetic. Poetry is the spark before change. In this way, we become the catalyst."

Eom, who was named the 2023 Youth Poet Vice-Laureate, is the editor-in-chief of Albany High School’s campus magazine, poet, and founder of a student-centered global citizenry nonprofit. Eom’s poetry explores the historical relationship between trauma, memory, and personal narrative.

"Poetry inspires me to re-evaluate my assumptions and understandings of both language and the world it encapsulates," Eom said. "Poetry offers a space for me to voice up and be vulnerable, and I aim to share untold stories of my community through it."

This year's finalists included Rose America Garcia of San Leandro, Vyahruti Gudoor of Fremont, Lia Le-Nguyen, also of Fremont and Anika Yu of Dublin.

Now in its third year, the competition, which library representatives said received a record-breaking number of submissions this year, was held during National Poetry Month in April.

"The winners were selected by a panel of judges from the Bay Area spoken word and restorative justice communities, and are judged based on the content, craft, and voice of their work," the library said in an email to Patch announcing the winners.

“The Alameda County Youth Poet Laureate competition celebrates teen voices from all over the county,” Nate Miley, Alameda County Board of Supervisors President Nate Miley said. “When teens express themselves creatively and authentically through poetry, they inspire our next generation of leaders to amplify their voices and make a difference in their communities.”

From now through August 2024, Guan and Eom will serve as ambassadors to inspire civic engagement, social justice, cultural awareness, and literary excellence among young people in Alameda County, the library said.

As this year’s Laureate, Guan will receive a MacBook, a suite of Apple products, and Guan’s poetry will be featured in the National Poetry Anthology along with Laureates across the country. Eom will receive an iPad and a suite of Apple products.

Winners and finalists will be invited to perform at public events throughout the year and are eligible to compete in the Regional Youth Poet Laureate and State of California Youth Poet Laureate competitions, the library said.

For more information about the Alameda County Youth Poet Laureate competition, click here.