Victoria High School grad Neko Smart has been named the City of Victoria’s new youth poet laureate, a position through which she will champion youth and the literary arts in the city.
“Poetry is a means of creative expression that enables me to process the world through the lens of my anxiety disorder,” Smart said in a statement.
“As youth poet laureate, my goal is to emphasize the importance of cultivating open dialogues about mental health in order to reduce stigma and increase safety, particularly in youth.”
She succeeds Aziza Moqia Sealey-Qaylow, who held the position in 2019.
Smart’s duties during the one-year honorary term include the presentation of new work to Victoria city council and youth council and various events produced in tandem with the Greater Victoria Public Library. She will also work alongside Victoria’s poet laureate, John Barton.
The position comes with a $1,750 honorarium and $2,000 of project funding from the City of Victoria and the GVPL.
