Black Arts and Culture

TWP Celebrates Youth Leaders; Youth Poets Saluted For Social Impact

Teens With a Purpose has honored Virginia’s 2026 Youth Poet Laureates, highlighting young writers from Midlothian and Chesapeake whose poetry explores identity, injustice, and social change while elevating youth voices across the Commonwealth.
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Special to the New journal and Guide
NORFOLK

At a time when young people across the country are demanding to be heard, Virginia has named its newest youth poetic leaders.

Teens With a Purpose, in partnership with the National Youth Poet Laureate Program under the leadership of Urban Word, recently appointed Tris Meagher of Midlothian as the 2026 Virginia Youth Poet Laureate and Breanna Downing of Chesapeake as the 2026 Hampton Roads Youth Poet Laureate, marking Breanna’s second consecutive year receiving the regional honor.

More than a poetry title, the Youth Poet Laureate distinction recognizes young people who are using their voices, artistry, and leadership to create change in their communities through civic engagement, advocacy, and creative expression.

“These young people are not only exceptional writers, they are truth tellers, bridge builders, and community leaders,” said Deirdre Love, founder and Chief Cultural Officer of Teens With a Purpose.

“In a time when many youth feel unseen or unheard, these poets remind us that young voices are powerful enough to shape culture, challenge injustice, and inspire hope.”

The 2026 adjudication process included in-person evaluations held at the TCC Joint-Use Library and the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center. Finalists and honorees were celebrated during the official announcement ceremony at the Chrysler Museum Glass Studio on April 6.

Community leaders, educators, parents and arts advocates gathered to honor the young poets, including former Virginia Poet Laureate Tim Seibles, Norfolk Deputy City Manager James Rogers, and Norfolk Public Schools Senior Coordinator of Secondary English Jeremy Clark.

Breanna Downing, who performs under the poetic name “Verity Amour,” creates deeply personal work inspired by her experiences with hunger, survival and being unhoused.

Through vivid storytelling and chilling repetition, Verity Amour’s Miss Mary Mack, performed at a gun violence awareness gathering at the Virginia State Capitol, confronts the human cost of gun violence by placing listeners inside the interrupted life of a young girl whose celebration becomes tragedy. Her poem reads; “What I thought would be a memory for the books turned into my obituary.”

As Virginia’s official pathway into the national program, Teens With a Purpose continues to elevate youth voices from across the Commonwealth onto regional and national stages. The newly appointed laureates will now have the opportunity to advance toward becoming the next Regional and National Youth Poet Laureates.

Love says, For Teens With a Purpose, the moment represents something larger than competition.

“It’s about creating space where young people know their voices matter. Poetry becomes leadership. Poetry becomes healing. Poetry becomes a way for young people to imagine and build a better future.”