Bowie Teen Named Prince George’s County Youth Poet Laureate

BOWIE, MD -- On Jan. 10, Marissa Michel, a resident of Bowie, was named the Prince George’s County Youth Poet Laureate at the County Administration Building. She is a former student at Whitehall Elementary School and Samuel Ogle Middle School. She is currently a 10th grade student at Sidwell Friends High School, where she is involved in several leadership positions including being a head of the Female Empowerment Club, a member of the Black Student Union, and a member of the dance team.

Marissa has received numerous prestigious Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, including a national silver medal. She was also recently published in the Maryland Literary Journal, Pen in Hand. She will be following the footsteps of the 2019 PG County Youth Poet Laureate, Mi’Jan Credle, also a Bowie resident and currently a student at Bowie State University.

The PG County Youth Poet Laureate program is in its fifth year and is sponsored by DIALECT of Prince George’s County. The program is open to Prince George's County residents ages 14-19 and looks for young poets, who are also leaders committed to civic and community engagement and promoting change through the arts. Poets complete a three step application process including an in-person interview with a panel of judges, submission of five original pieces of poetry, and then a live performance for the finalists held at the Newton White Mansion, which takes place in December. The program is run by Patrick Washington, or “Black Picasso,” one of the country’s premier performance poets. He is also a teaching artist for several organizations including Words Beats & Life, Washington Performing Arts Society, and DC Creative Writing Workshop.

Marissa first learned of this program thru her wonderful eighth grade English teacher at Samuel Ogle Middle School, Ann Marie Maloney. She introduced the students in her class to many forms of poetry, including spoken word poetry, and encouraged them to explore creative writing as a means of expression. In attendance at the ceremony last night were Sistah Joy Alford (the PoetLaureate of Prince George’s County), Neville Adams (the founder of lyrikalstorm), Jonathan Medlock (mayor of District Heights), among others.

Bowie Public Library is hosting a "Literacy Thru Poetry" initiative through the Office of the Poet Laureate Saturday, Jan. 18, at 1 p.m. Sistah Joy Alford, Marissa Michel, and Patrick Washington will all be performing at this event. It is geared at introducing children to poetry and improving literacy in our community.