By Kyle Marshall. Mississauga News. Saturday, April 15, 2023
“The City of Mississauga has announced Lisa Shen as the fourth youth poet laureate.
The 23-year-old writer and spoken word artist will hold the position from 2023 to 2025 and will serve as literary ambassador for youth in Mississauga, aiding in elevating the status of poetry, literary arts and young writers through community poetry events and other projects.
Every two years, Mississauga searches for its new youth poet laureate. The honorary position recognizes a young poet who produces exceptional poetry or spoken word art and has written about themes that are important to the Mississauga community.
Shen’s work focuses on gender-based violence and feminism, with secondary focuses being queer identity, disability and Chinese-Canadianism. Shen also won the 2021 Mississauga Poetry Slam, the 2022 Ink Movement Slam and the May 2020 Open Drawer Poetry Contest.
“We are excited to welcome Lisa Shen as our new Youth Poet Laureate,” said Kelly Reichheld, acting director of arts and culture. “Lisa was selected from an exceptional list of applicants and is a talented writer and poet. She will be (a) great role model for aspiring artists and poets and will help raise the profile of literary arts in Mississauga.”
Shen has spoken at TEDx McMasterU 2022 and has been featured at arts festivals and events all over the continent, including Word Humboldt, Hamilton Youth Poets and the JAYU Human Rights Film Festival. Her work has also been published by Brickyard Spoken Word, Voicemail Poems and is slated to soon be featured in Rattle.
Shen took over her new role from previous laureate Qurat Dar on April 12. The public can expect to see and hear from her at Mississauga’s fourth annual Poetry Slam on April 19. She will also be a part of the Canada Day celebrations at Celebration Square on July 1.”
