"Your Story Is Always Going to Be Important"

10/28/2022

"Your Story Is Always Going to Be Important"

To be accountable we must render an account: Not what was said, but what was meant. Not the fact, but what was felt. What was known, even while unnamed.
Amanda Gorman, 2020 National Youth Poet Laureate

“Poetry has always been a part of my life,” says 2021 National Youth Poet Laureate Alexandra Hu?nh, “One of the earliest memories I have of writing poetry is actually when I wrote songs, when I was around 7. At the time, I was taking singing lessons and the songs I was singing about didn’t reflect my own lived experiences as a 7-year-old, so I wanted to write a song that felt more true to me. They weren’t necessarily the most impressive thing, but I think that was a great step forward in the sense that I really was able to take my own experiences and write them into existence.”

She concludes, “It’s really important for me to advocate for spaces for youth where they can learn how to articulate their lived experiences and feel very safe in doing so. There’s no shortage in the amount of genius that is in our young people, just a shortage of spaces for them to speak out their truth. And I stand by that.”

(The title above is also a quote from Hu?nh).

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.