Samuel Getachew is the 2019 Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland, CA and primarily has been recognized for his poetry (slam poetry and spoken word). His poetry has been featured on NPR, KTVU, KQED, and other venues.
Because he is an emerging youth artist, there does not appear to be a detailed biography available on Samuel, but it appears that he was born and raised in Oakland, CA. Much of his poetry addresses the beauty and struggle of Oakland and particularly black boyhood and coming of age in Oakland.
Samuel is currently a junior at Oakland Technical High School. He has been involved in Youth Speaks, a youth agency that empowers and trains young poets.
In 2017, Samuel was part of the Brave New Voices festival, the only festival of its kind in the world, where his team ranked among the top eight in the world. He won the Grand Slam Finals of the Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Haunts:
- Oakland Public Library, 125 14th Street, Oakland, CA 94612. Samuel grew up reading in branches of the library. Now, as the Oakland Youth Poet Laureate, he participates in public events and readings hosted by the library, the Oakland Museum, etc.
- Youth Speaks, 1446 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94102. A national organization with a large influence in the Bay Area, Youth Speaks trains youth around the Bay in spoken word and poetry, conducting workshops in schools and in partnership with local organizations.
- Oakland Technical High School, 4351 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94611. Samuel’s high school.
~ by Michal Jones ~
External Links:
Artist website – https://www.samuelgetachew.com/
“Lake” (2019) – Poem https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=CcXs1zmL8nc
“Flight” (2018) – Poem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cPKHMZAgU8
https://oaklandlibrary.org/samuel-getachew-named-2019-oakland-youth-poet-laureate
https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/freshest-new-poet-in-the-town/BestOf?oid=27301867
