Eva Haas is Victoria’s Youth Poet Laureate for 2023 to 2025. This honorary position celebrates the contributions of literature and poetry in the capital city.
Eva grew up in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on traditional Beothuk and Mi'kmaq territories. Eva received the Arts and Letters Award from the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador three times and is now going into third year Writing and History at the University of Victoria, specializing in the genres of fiction and poetry.
In 2021, Eva was the poetry winner of This Side of West's Prose & Poetry competition and in 2023 placed second in the On the Verge competition for prose.
“I think poetry can mean something to anyone – whether you prefer it silly, sentimental, complex or lyrical,” said Haas. “As Youth Poet Laureate, I want to show people that poetry can be whatever you want it to be and that it shouldn't be intimidating to claim it as your own. So much of our world is beautiful and responding to that with poetry can be as simple and intuitive as you want.”
For more information about this program, or to contact the Youth Poet Laureate, email culture@victoria.ca.
Readings and Events
Requests for readings or presentations at community events by the Youth Poet Laureate should be accompanied by an honorarium.
Eli Mushumanski was Victoria’s tenth Youth Poet Laureate.
Serving as Victoria’s champion for youth and the literary arts, Eli sought to inspire and engage local youth to share their stories through written and spoken word.
James Summer was Victoria's ninth Youth Poet Laureate, and began writing poetry in his junior year of high school when he joined Vic High School’s slam poetry club, and became president of the club in his senior year. James views poetry as a medium that can express growth, pain and love through self-expression in a safe space.
Neko Smart was the eighth Youth Poet Laureate, a graduate of Victoria High School, and the founder and former captain turned coach of the Vic High Slam Poetry Team.
Neko uses poetry as a creative expression that allows her to process the world through the lens of her anxiety disorder. During her term as Youth Poet Laureate, her goal was to emphasize the importance of cultivating open dialogue about mental heath in order to reduce stigma and increase safety, particularly in youth.
Aziza was appointed as the seventh Youth Poet Laureate by City Council on January 10, 2019. Aziza is a slam poet and an honours graduate from Reynolds Secondary School. As the daughter of a Somali refugee and a seventh-generation Canadian, Sealey-Qaylow is deeply connected to her culture and writes about the adventures of being in a mixed family, as well as to help negotiate the joy and clashes found in the daily mix of cultures, ethnicities, religions, languages and nationalities.
Agartu Ali was 16 years old and in Grade 11 at Victoria High School when she was appointed as Victoria's sixth Youth Poet Laureate in 2018. During her term she performed at the Integrate Arts Festival, Earth Day, various poetry month events, helped lead a virtual reality workshop for teens, and organized a sold-out poetry event called "Poems of Colour," highlighting local poets and artists of colour in partnership with the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.
In January 2017, Maita Cienska was appointed Victoria's fifth Youth Poet Laureate. A 19-year -old Vancouver Island poet, Cienska had composed poems as a form of expression since middle school. As Victoria's 2017 Youth Poet Laureate, Cienska's vision was to break poetry into new spaces with youth who may not have been exposed to this boisterous art form.
K.P DENNIS (the artist formerly known as Ann-Bernice Thomas) is a black, non-binary, multi-disciplinary artist, producer, director, and activist. They were the 2016 Youth Poet Laureate of Victoria and are currently the artistic director of COLORQODED, QTI2POC arts collective. In 2017 they were the recipient of the VACCS Community Recognition Award and just finished a cross Canada tour with their critically acclaimed shows, Monica vs the Internet & LUBDUB.
In 2015, Zoé Duhaime was announced as Victoria's third Youth Poet Laureate. Duhaime is a spoken word artist and page poet. One of the highlights as Youth Poet Laureate was being an invited guest to the Governor General’s Literary Awards in Ottawa. During her one-year term, Duhaime was in second year at the University of Victoria studying Religious and Women’s Studies, topics that were reflected in her work and art. She loves to discuss youth in poetry, gender in art (and art in gender), and forgiveness versus mercy.
In January 2014, the City of Victoria Youth Council selected Morgan Purvis as Victoria's second Youth Poet Laureate. She served as an ambassador for youth in Victoria, performing at City Council and City of Victoria Youth Council meetings, and completing a project of her choice to engage her peers through poetry. An active volunteer with the Victoria Poetry Project, Morgan represented Victoria at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in Montreal.
Aysia Law served as Victoria's Inaugural Youth Poet Laureate in 2013. At the time, she was a student at the University of Victoria studying creative writing. During her term, Law read her original poetry at Victoria City Council and Youth Council meetings.
