Westwood High School senior Brandee Benson has been named the 2023 Austin Youth Poet Laureate.
“I’m thrilled to be able to share my passion for poetry for the youth of Austin,” she said. “Poetry has always played a key role in my life as an avenue for self-expression.”
The Youth Poet Laureate program was created to “identify and uplift young writers and leaders who are committed to civic and community engagement, poetry and performance, human relations, diversity, social justice, and education across Austin.”
Brandee says her 12 years of English classes at Round Rock ISD inspired her to explore poetry.
“In elementary school, my dad would write me poems as lunchbox notes, which I’ve always kept and cherished,” she said.
She applied for the competition under the recommendation of her mentor, fellow poet Steven Espada Dawson, and was declared the winner in November.
As the Youth Poet Laureate, Brandee will serve as a representative for youth voices and poetry in Austin. She’ll also be published in the National Youth Poet Laureate anthology and will have the opportunity to publish a chapbook through Host Publications.
“I believe that writing about human nature, uncertainty, hardship, and passion … is a tool to better understand and process the subconscious. Through my writing experience, I’ve learned to self-reflect and forgive.”
Brandee said she is influenced by her Chinese American cultural identity, themes of fruit, and the intersection of the two.
While she plans to continue creating poetry for the rest of her life, Brandee said she won’t be studying poetry after her graduation in May.
She is committed to NYU Stern School of Business’s Class of 2028.