James Summer has been selected as the City of Victoria’s youth poet laureate for 2021. Through the position—which is open to poets between the ages of 14 and 24—Summer will engage with youth through poetry. As part of the position, Summer, who was chosen for the position by a committee made up of people from the city’s writing community, will get a $1,750 honorarium as well as $2,000 of project funding from the City of Victoria and the Greater Victoria Public Library.
Summer was introduced to poetry by last years poet laureate, Neko Smart, who started the slam poetry club at Vic High when they were both students there.
“She messaged me on Instagram and just said, ‘Hey, I saw you were in a writing class at the high school and I wanted to know if you wanted to join my club.’ And so, from there I started joining meetings and I really, really loved it,” says Summer. “We went to competitions, and it just sparked a whole new thing for me. I really enjoyed it.”
Poetry was a natural fit for Summer, who has always loved the arts. Before he was introduced to the medium, he had experimented with visual arts, pottery, and theatre. In high school, he started taking creative writing classes, which led him down the path he’s on today.
“I’ve known the last few youth poet laureates and they really inspired me tremendously,” says Summer. “I really looked up to them; everything they did as youth poet laureate I just looked up to and respected. So, when the time came around this year to apply for youth poet laureate, I definitely wanted to do it. I wanted to take the chance, but it was super nerve wracking because so many amazing poets have gotten youth poet laureate.”
After weeks of waiting, Summer was at work when he got the email saying he had been given the position.
“I went outside and just screamed into the street,” he says. ”I did not honestly expect that. And I’m super honoured and super grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given already. There’s a lot for me to do and it’s incredibly exciting.”
Summer’s background in theatre has made him used to being on stage, so while all the new attention has been “weird” for him, it hasn’t been overwhelming; he says he’s loving it. Summer has made up his mind to make the most of the next year and to try to be a role model for other aspiring poets.
“For me, something I really want to bring attention to during my time as youth poet laureate is giving back to the youth,” he says. “The last few youth poet laureates, they were really inspiring for me and really helped me to grow myself, watching somebody else perform and express themselves. So, I want to give back to that, and I think it will be a big part in my duties, especially. I’ve already done a few meetings and I’m doing some interviews here and there, so that’s exciting, but I’m excited to get to the meat of it all and kinda go out there and do projects and give platforms to other poets, as well.”
Summer says that people should write about whatever is important to them, no matter what it is. Whether big or small, poetry should come from the heart, he says.
“I definitely felt overwhelmed when I started poetry,” he admits. “I felt like slam was just a political thing, so I was really nervous about writing my first slam poem, and then after seeing some other poets, I realized that poetry is so abstract it can be whatever you want it to be. So that really put my foot in the door. Just write, is what I’m really trying to say.”
Summer will be the youth poet laureate until December 31.