Madison Youth Poet Laureate Celebration

media release: Madison poet laureate Steven Espada Dawson and the Madison Arts Commission are inviting the public to the opening reception and poetry reading for the city of Madison’s new youth poet laureate, Octavia Ikard.

The event will take place on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, at 5:30pm in room 201 of the Madison Municipal Building, located at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. An elevator is available by the staircase at the Doty Street end of the building.

This celebration marks the inaugural reading for Ikard. The reading will also feature poems from Madison poet laureate Steven Dawson, youth arts ambassador Dawry Ruiz, and outgoing youth poet laureate Justin Festge Russell. After the reception, Ikard will read a poem to open the Madison Common Council Meeting.

Octavia is the fourth Youth Poet Laureate for Madison, following Madeleine Bohn (2022-2023), Maliha Nu’Man (2023-2024), and Justin Festge Russell (2024-2025).

Every day I challenge myself to answer why I write. So far, I can say this: I am the storyteller of my family. I listen to the hearts of the women around me and let their rhythm guide my pencil. I write about my mother walking over glass with her twin sister in the eighties. I write about my grandmother, who raised twelve brothers alone at age eight. I study her feet and hands, and her scrapbooks filled with dreams of who she could have been. I let their anger flow through my words and release it with every performance. My writing shows my love for myself and the Black women around me, including those in Madison. I hope to live long enough to be a story worth telling. Octavia Ikard, incoming Madison Youth Poet Laureate

The Madison Youth Poet Laureate serves a one-year term. They will work with Madison Poet Laureate Steven Espada Dawson and represent the City of Madison through opportunities like poetry readings, school visits, and judging writing contests for the Madison Public Library. Their poems will be published in the National Youth Poet Laureate annual anthology, and they can apply for the National Youth Poet Laureate role.

Octavia brings a powerful voice to the page—one that connects personal history to place with striking clarity. Their work blends grief, identity, and family legacy into vivid imagery and lyrical insight. With a sharp sense of language and a brave approach to memory, they embody the spirit of our city’s evolving story. As Madison’s next youth poet laureate, they have the voice and vision to reflect both its beauty and complexities. Steven Espada Dawson, Madison Poet Laureate

We are thrilled to welcome Octavia as Madison’s fourth Youth Poet Laureate. They are a gifted poet who creates because they must. The Youth Poet Laureate program has grown every year, and we look forward to hearing what Octavia has to share. Listen closely, Madison. Nick Pjevach, Madison Arts Commission chair

The Madison Youth Poet Laureate program is a partnership between the City of Madison and the National Youth Poet Laureate program. This initiative honors talented young poets and offers competitive opportunities for youth to showcase their literary art regionally and nationally.

Applications for the 2025-2026 Madison Youth Poet Laureate opened on April 1 and closed on April 30, coinciding with National Poetry Month. To qualify, applicants must be aged 13 to 19 at selection and reside within the City of Madison. This is the fourth year of the program.

The Madison Arts Commission works to encourage artistic activities and performances throughout the city, supporting both emerging and established artists while enhancing the cultural landscape of Madison through public art initiatives.