The Great Writers Challenge started in 2021 when YWP writer Nightheart, then 16, wanted to introduce Young Writers Project to the incredible poets she was discovering. We're continuing the tradition by featuring a new poet or author every month, sharing their styles, themes, and contributions to the literary landscape. If you're inspired by the monthly challenges, please respond with your own writing.
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In Black History Month, we honor Toni Morrison, the first Black woman to be awarded the Nobel laureate in literature, gained worldwide acclaim for her unvarnished exploration of Black identity in America. Have you read her work?
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Words matter. John Keene has a poem about that.
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"Before you know what kindness really is, you must lose things," writes poet Naomi Shihab Nye.
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Clear, evocative, simply beautiful – words that describe this poet's work.
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She is one of the most original and prolific poets of all time, the incomparable Emily Dickinson (1830—1886).
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Their poetry is intersectional, inclusive, and powerful.
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Get to know this poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and leader of the Harlem Renaissance.
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The youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history and an award-winning writer and social activist, whose poem, "The Hill We Climb," wowed America at President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021.
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Hi Poets! For the month of December, William Blake is YWP's Great Poet – recommended by YWP intern Anna O'Reilly.
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Joy Harjo, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, draws on her ancestors' experience in her award-winning poetry. She was the 23rd United States Poet Laureate (2019-22).
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Get swept away by the haunting poetry of Ocean Vuong, an award-winning young Vietnamese-American poet, essayist, and novelist.
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Born in Seoul, Korea, Sandra Kim grew up in California and now lives in Massachusetts where she is an English professor and author of three poetry collections. Lim is the recent recipient of the 2023 Jackson Poetry Prize.