Youth Poet Laureate

Selected by nomination, Victoria's Youth Poet Laureate serves as a literary and cultural ambassador.

Role of Youth Poet Laureate

Over the one-year term, the Youth Poet Laureate will create three new works of poetry, present at bi-monthly City Council meetings, serve as a judge on the panel for the Greater Victoria Public Library Teen Writing Contest, host an event or project that will engage youth, and collaborate with the Greater Victoria Public Library on a poetry workshop for teens. The Youth Poet Laureate is an honorary one-year term position from January 1 to December 31, 2022.

The position receives a $1,750 honorarium and $2,000 of project funding in addition to the one-year mentorship with the Poet Laureate and administrative support from the City of Victoria.

Victoria's 2022 Youth Poet Laureate

Eli Mushumanski

Eli Mushumanski is Victoria’s tenth Youth Poet Laureate!

Serving as Victoria’s champion for youth and the literary arts, Eli will seek to inspire and engage local youth to share their stories through written and spoken word.

In 2021, Eli Mushumanski completed a double major in Writing and English with Honours at the University of Victoria. They grew up in Northern British Columbia on the traditional territory of the Saik'uz First Nation. At UVic, Eli acted as fiction editor for literary journal, This Side of West, as well as senior editor for Her Campus at UVic. Eli has poetry published in The Warren and participated in the City of Victoria's 2021 Resilient Muse reading series.

"In the past couple of years, poetry has helped me turn inward and explore my relationship to myself. Now, as Youth Poet Laureate, I'd like to use poetry to look outward. In a time of great climate anxiety, I'm interested in how art can help us reclaim our responsibility to nature rather than simply escape it."

We are excited about upcoming collaborations with other youth in the community during Eli’s term as Youth Poet Laureate.

Poetry Readings and Events

The Poetry of Plants

What: Victoria’s Youth Poet Laureate, Eli Mushumanski, invites you to join an afternoon of scribbling in the Fernwood Community Garden. Pick a plant and write to express your admiration, devotion or however the muse moves you.

Eli Mushumanski is Victoria’s tenth Youth Poet Laureate. Serving as Victoria’s champion for youth and the literary arts, Eli will seek to inspire and engage local youth to share their stories through written and spoken word.

Snacks will be provided.

Where: Fernwood Community Garden, 1240 Gladstone Avenue
When: Saturday, August 6 at 1 p.m.
Who: Everyone is invited! See you there!

Victoria Youth Poets Read (April 2022)

To celebrate National Poetry Month, City of Victoria Youth Poet Laureate Eli Mushumanski presents ‘Victoria Youth Poets Read’, featuring original poetry by local poets Hana Mason, Dylan Clark, Jodi Hill, and Liz Stewart. 2022 marks the 24th National Poetry month, which has become the largest literary celebration in the world and highlights the importance of poetry in our culture and our lives.

Learn more about the youth poets here: Victoria Youth Poets Read Biographies [PDF - 259 KB]

Every Avocado Needs a Husband (January 27, 2022)