Malaya Ulan is Philadelphia’s new youth poet laureate

“A lot of the writing I do is activism,” said Malaya Ulan, a 16-year-old high school student who was recently named Philadelphia’s youth poet laureate for 2024-2025.

In “Deeply Rooted” — an original poem she read at the announcement ceremony, Ulan used a buried kamote (sweet potato) as a metaphor for the unseen stories of Black and Brown people. The metaphor extends, with roots reaching into the soil to find healing and nutrients and replenishment despite the chaos of the political climate in the world above. Read more. 

Photo Courtesy of Malaya Ulan