2022 Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards Winners

Illustration by: Asha Edwards

Congratulations to all of the winners and honorable mentions of the 2022 Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards! Gwendolyn Brooks began the Youth Poetry Awards in 1969 during her tenure as Illinois Poet Laureate and continued to administer the awards until her passing in 2000. The original youth poetry awards were born out of Ms. Brooks’ belief that a poet laureate, “should do more than wear a crown – [she] should be of service to the young.” This year Illinois Humanities has partnered with the Poetry Foundation, Brooks Permissions, Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts and many more to honor Brook's tremendous legacy.

“The young people who submitted poems this year are powerful observers, documenters, and interrogators of their lives and the worlds they engage with,” said Gabrielle Lyon, executive director of Illinois Humanities. “These poems – submitted from every corner of the state – are part of an annual tradition that, each year, powerfully reminds us, that poetry can help us find our shared humanity.”

Join us Saturday, August 20th at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts to celebrate these young poets. This event is free

and open to the public, though RSVP is required. RSVP HERE.

Below you'll find a list of the winners and honorable mentions by grade. Many of them have graciously shared their favorite books and poems with us, and we are delighted to share them with you. Browse their favorites below!

KINDERGARTEN

1ST GRADE

2ND GRADE

3RD GRADE

4TH GRADE

5TH GRADE

6TH GRADE

      • Favorite Poem: We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar

7TH GRADE

8TH GRADE

9TH GRADE

10TH GRADE

  • The Mindspace” by Reginald Armstrong Jr., Chicago
      • Favorite Poem: Harlem by Langston Hughes
  • Honorable Mention: “Joy vs. Abyss” by Brooks Lansana, Chicago

11TH GRADE

12TH GRADE