Paying it Forward with Poetry: Ivy Smith Becomes Lincoln Park’s First Youth Poet Laureate

Junior Ivy Smith of Moon Township recently became the first-ever Allegheny County Youth Poet Laureate from Lincoln Park.

Junior writing and publishing major Ivy Smith was recently named Youth Poet Laureate of Allegheny County--an award that has never before been achieved by a Lincoln Park student.

It’s an award that Smith has been thinking about for some time, however.

“When I submitted, I was kind of thinking about how I would always look up to the seniors here, and see all the cool things they were doing,” Smith says. “How successful they were in their own rights.”

One of the students Smith looked up to was 2023 Lincoln Park graduate Jade Davis, a member of the Writing & Publishing Department. Davis was named an Allegheny County Youth Poet Ambassador, and served as an inspiration for Smith.

Smith, who is from Moon Township, has been at Lincoln Park since seventh grade. The Youth Poet Laureate is an award for students ages 13 to 19 who demonstrate artistic excellence in poetry and show a commitment to social justice. 

When asked how she got this title, Smith states, “I kind of already knew about it. But I finally saw it on the board out there, and I didn't have any submissions yet, so I submitted.”

The Submissions Board is a cork board outside of the main writing and publishing classroom that features submission opportunities, contests, and various writing programs. Deanna Baringer, Director of Writing and Publishing, came up with this idea.

“The Submissions Board is my effort to identify opportunities and contests and journals and submission calls,” explains Mrs. Baringer. “It's just a sample of what is out there, and I hope that people will look at that and take advantage of those opportunities.”

Even though Smith has found many opportunities that have to do with the Youth Poet Laureate, some are found outside of it.

“There is actually a lot more of a literary community in Pittsburgh than I expected,” Smith shares. “I've gone to some readings, and usually they have something to do with social justice because that's a City of Asylum thing.”

City of Asylum, which sponsors the Youth Poet Laureate competition, is a nonprofit organization based in Pittsburgh that provides a number of free literary, arts, and humanities programs. It also helps writers who have been exiled for their work. 

Smith will be making some other appearances as Youth Poet Laureate this spring.

“I was invited by the Sewickley Library to host a workshop at Quaker Valley Middle School in May,” she says, “and then I'll be reading at [Pittsburgh] Bookfest in May.”

Not only is Smith excited about the new opportunities that arise with this title, she also reveals another reason this award means a lot to her. 

 “I can't look up to anyone so much anymore,” says Smith, “So, hopefully, I have some sort of impact, indirectly or directly, on someone who's watching from the middle school classrooms.”

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School is a tuition-free public charter school located in Midland, PA, and open to all Pennsylvania families. Students grades 7-12 are bused from nearly 90 different school districts to study the arts concentration of their choice: theatre, writing and publishing, media arts, health science and the arts, music, dance, and pre-law and the arts.

For more information, visit lppacs.org or contact: admissions@lppacs.org