As youth poet laureate of Flagstaff, Micaela Merryman is responsible for working to engage youth within our community in the literary arts—especially poetry. Merryman does so by organizing events and being an advocate for youth in arts in Flagstaff.
Merryman said she had first been interested in writing when she was quite young. She said that it was her older sister who really got her interested in it.
“She used to write all these stories all the time—like, her original stories,” Merryman said. “And the only time she would let me into her room was when she wanted to read them to me, and she wanted me to come to listen.”
The youth poet laureate said it was then that she was completely captured by the idea of writing.
“I was like, ‘you know what?’” Merryman said, “’I can do that, I have ideas too.’”
Largely in part due to her family’s shared love of reading and storytelling, Merryman said she never really seemed to stray from her aspiration to be a writer, despite being so young when she first became interested in it.
“It’s honestly the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do, and I’m happy that I’m doing it,” Merryman said.
Merryman said that her identity as a woman of color often impacts the way she writes, and especially as a poet, she said she thinks of herself as very vulnerable, emotional and raw. The process of writing can sometimes feel like journaling, she explained, as she doesn’t often find herself writing to come up with a polished product. Instead, she said she finds herself writing poetry when she is feeling something.
“Maybe I just want to write, and if people like it and accept it, that’s awesome,” Merryman said. “And if they don’t, then I’m still going to write anyway.”
Merryman remained invested in writing throughout her schooling and founded the English Honors Society of NAU during her time studying at the university. Though unfortunately, Merryman said the club didn’t necessarily take off, as the pandemic hit shortly after its formation.
Not long after, Merryman also created a local literary magazine called Sonder. According to its website, Sonder Magazine was a local youth artist collective that focused on “the true life stories that fabricate our fiction.” Sonder had two zine issues—and the latest issue is entitled “Leave me be, it’s kinder down here!” Though in December of 2022, the publication announced its archived status after two years running.
For the better part of the last two years, Merryman continued diving headfirst into the literary world and hosted the Off the Rails poetry series at Late for the Train. The series involves community poetry readings and rotating musical acts. Merryman said hosting the series is likely what brought attention to her involvement in the local literary community, leading to her selection as Flagstaff’s youth poet laureate.
Merryman’s term as youth poet laureate began in January of 2023 and will officially end later this year. Merryman said the grant-funded position, supported by the Northern Arizona Book Festival and the Flagstaff City Council, allows a young community member to serve as a point person for literary arts in Flagstaff. Her main responsibilities include interacting with the community, attending events and creating opportunities for Flagstaff’s youth to get more involved with the local literary community.
“I’ve gotten a lot of cool opportunities to expand in my community,” Merryman said.
The youth poet laureate said a few of the responsibilities she had during the position include being a state judge for the 2023 Poetry Out Loud competition and a regional judge for the 2024 competition. She said she also had the opportunity to hold a social media residency at the Museum of Northern Arizona and use the youth poet Laureate grant funds to bring in a Poet Laureate from San Francisco, Tongo Eisen-Martin—an author Merryman said she really admires.
“My biggest responsibility as the youth poet laureate is leading the Youth Poetry Council,” Merryman said.
The Youth Poetry Council was created by the Northern Arizona Book Festival in response to youth interest in involvement in book festival events, the Northern Arizona Book Festival website explained. Merryman said the group is currently composed of about 10 college-age students from 18 to 25.
Each month, the Youth Poetry Council hosts community literary events with a focus on gaining more youth interest in the arts and involvement in the local arts community. Merryman said these events range from remote to in-person workshops, writing nights, readings and more.
“It’s a really cool opportunity for anyone in college to kind of figure out what’s around them and what’s available around the things they’re passionate about,” Merryman said. “I feel like when I was in college, I had trouble finding things like poetry readings or things like that where I felt like young people were really welcome.”
Creating spaces where there may not have been opportunities in the past for young people to explore, engage and express themselves in literary arts is the biggest focus of the Youth Poetry Council, Merryman said.
As the youth poet laureate of the community, Merryman is not only better able to serve the youth population than a traditional poet laureate, but she also has been given more opportunity to make a difference and advance her career, she said.
“I think it’s really cool to be able to give young people a specific space where they could be a leader in their community as opposed to a poet laureate-ship, which may be more competitive because it’s an all-age thing,” Merryman said. “How could a young person compete?”
Merryman said becoming the youth poet laureate of Flagstaff had changed her life because she started doing things she wasn’t doing before. That began shaping her life as a writer.
“Receiving [the youth poet laureate-ship] is a really humbling experience and especially for a medium that I didn’t feel very confident in,” Merryman said.
Merryman said as a writer, she had mainly focused on fiction in the past, and that being recognized for her poetry is affirming. She said she had only really been focusing on her poetry for a couple of years before people resonated with her work and she was selected as the youth poet laureate of Flagstaff.
“There’s not really a quantifiable way that this role has changed my life in the past year,” Merryman said. “But, it’s definitely bolstered my confidence in my writing and who I am as an arts administrator.”
When her youth poet laureate-ship comes to a close, Merryman said she looks forward to having more time to focus on her own writing and dive back into fiction writing, which she said is where her true passion lies. Though, the writer said she plans to remain actively involved in the local literary community.
“I’m really proud of all the work I’ve done in the past two years, but I’m really excited to dive into working almost strictly on my craft,” Merryman said.
