Past Event

7th Annual Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards Ceremony

Join Illinois Humanities and Brooks Permissions as we honor the winners of the 7th Annual Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards at the Ceremony taking place at the Reva and David Center of the Arts on September 9, 2023. During this celebration, you will experience the thoughts, wisdom, joy, and pain of today’s youth. Save your spot today for this exciting display of talent.

Gwendolyn Brooks began the Youth Poetry Awards in 1969 during her time as Illinois Poet Laureate and continued the awards until her passing in 2000. Illinois Humanities joined together with the Poetry Foundation, Brooks Permissions, and the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts to revive the youth poetry awards in 2017 to honor her tremendous legacy.

Brooks summed up the contest best in a note in 1977: “All the children who entered the contest are winners…They worked hard. They created. And that is what is important.”

This program is co-sponsored by the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts. Learn more about the annual awards at ILHumanities.org/Poetry.