Harwood freshman named Vermont’s first Youth Poet Laureate
May 22, 2024 | By Lisa Scagliotti 
Harmony Belle Devoe of Warren has been named Vermont's first Youth Poet Laureate. Photo by Tina Picz Photography
The statewide nonprofit poetry organization Sundog Poetry recently announced that a Harwood Union High School freshman was the winner of a contest to name Vermont’s first Youth Poet Laureate.
For the next year, Warren ninth grader Harmony Belle Devoe will hold the title and fill the role as an ambassador for youth voice in the literary arts in Vermont, according to the May 8 announcement.
Sundog Poetry partnered with the organization Urban Word to seek out young writers ages 13-19 who are committed to artistic excellence, civic engagement, and social impact in their poetry. Participants submitted a portfolio of their original poetry along with their resume to highlight both their artistic chops and community impact. Devoe was among 10 finalists and her work stood out.
“Harmony's exemplary poetry and stellar community work impressed us immensely,” said Meg Reynolds, president of Sundog Poetry's board. “She will undoubtedly set a high bar as Vermont's first Youth Poet Laureate.”
Among Devoe’s accomplishments included in her application for the poetry honor included her first-place award in the Hildene Lincoln Essay Competition in 2023, service on the Vermont Youth Council, the Underground Workshop, and other arts and advocacy groups.
Harmony’s multiracial heritage of Filipino, Indigenous Nipmuc and white ancestry
informs both her art and outreach, the organization noted.
In selecting Harmony, the judges commended her desire to address injustices in the world, especially those brought upon marginalized communities and the Earth. “Having lived in five states and among a wide spectrum of communities, she holds a deep belief in the importance of open-mindedness and the need to advocate for others to embrace diversity and understanding,” the poetry organization commented.
As winner of the contest, Harmony receives a $500 cash prize and a letterpress print of one of her poems by Ruth Stone House, invitations to a regional competition and public readings in Vermont. All of the finalists get to attend national workshops with other poets.
The Vermont youth poet laureate program joins more than 70 cities, states and counties nationwide in the National Youth Poet Laureate initiative. State Youth Poets Laureate participate in dozens of events, workshops and performances each year, according to Sundog.
“These young ambassadors promote artistic excellence, civic engagement and social impact through literary arts,” the Sundog announcement explains. Youth poets laureate have appeared at the Library of Congress, the White House, and in national news media interviews including with CNN, PBS and The New York Times.
The Vermont program also collaborated with the Clemmons Family Farm, Ruth Stone House and Young Writers Project and it had funding from Vermont Humanities and the Vermont Community Foundation. More information about the project is online here.
Sundog is a nonprofit organization that promotes poetry through workshops, readings and publications across Vermont. Looking to support poets and cultivate an appreciation for poetry among audiences, it holds events in spaces such as independent bookstores, performing art spaces, cafes, schools, libraries, art galleries, and popular Vermont venues such as Shelburne Farms and Burlington’s ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain Museum.
‘Poetry can spark revolution’: An interview with Harmony Belle Devoe
Harmony Belle Devoe is a freshman at Harwood Union High School. Photo by Tina Picz Photography
The Valley Reporter and Waterbury Roundabout checked in with Harmony Belle Devoe about her recent accomplishment of being named Vermont’s first Youth Poet Laureate. In the Q/A interview below the Harwood ninth grader shares her thoughts on writing, poetry, activism and her interests.
VR/WR: When did you start writing poetry and why?
HBD: I started writing poetry as soon as I was able to write sentences, as any words spoken or written with deep feelings and arranged as the speaker would want them to be heard beautifully as poetry, which many, including my younger self, don’t completely realize. I started consciously writing poetry when I was in second grade. My mom is a poet and advocate for equity and the environment and exposed me to many forms of writing early on. My dad is an advocate for the environment. My parents fostered my reading skills, taught me about the world around me and the society in which I live, and never told me that achievements or a profession in writing were unrealistic. I started writing when my teacher introduced a poetry unit, and we were told to write about our observations of a dogwood tree. I continued to write about everything I found wonderful in the world. I soon found there is much that is not always so lovely that needs to be highlighted as well, so I began to write about equity for the people and the planet. Poetry can spark revolution. After all, words are the beginning of every action. I truly believe the pen is mightier than the sword.
VR/WR: What inspires and informs your work?
HBD: A multitude of things inspire and inform my work, including my desire for peace, the need for justice and equity for children and marginalized, underserved communities, my want for people to care about others and the planet, the climate crisis, the news, family discussions, being in nature, witnessing harmful events, feeling like I should leave the world in a well-functioning state, injustice, beauty, and imperfection. Many aspects of living inspire my poetry, such as the textures of life, glints of sunlight or a tree’s shadow that remind me of an aspect of society, or a sentence spoken in passing that I feel is an analogy for our corrupt systems. I think my open-mindedness comes from living in five different states and meeting many kinds of people, and my love for learning and writing come from my upbringing and early education. News of banned books has informed my poetry as well.
VR/WR: What does being named Vermont Youth Poet Laureate mean to you?
HBD: Being named as Vermont’s first-ever Youth Poet Laureate means, to me, that I have the opportunity to serve the community, share my words and messages more widely, invite more people into my life and into writing, and to expose others to writing and global issues.
VR/WR: Besides poetry, tell us a little bit about your other interests: VT Youth Council, Firefolk Arts, other Harwood organizations?
HBD: In addition to poetry, I enjoy advocating for causes I care about, like [serving] on the Vermont State Youth Council. I also enjoy creating spaces for people, especially marginalized/underserved communities, to feel safe, connected, and joyful, which I do as the youth event co-producer at Firefolk Arts in Waitsfield. I also love to cross-country run, act, sing, bake, read, public speak, clean the environment, report, follow policy, watercolor paint, and drink tea. I love to feel connected with others and feel like we are working toward a goal of actionable positive change, which I do in clubs at Harwood, like Students’ Alliance for Racial Justice, Youth Lobby, Resettled Outreach Club, and more. I have been planning the annual Race Against Racism, on May 25 in Montpelier from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
VR/WR: What are your goals with poetry and writing?
HBD: I plan to publish multiple books, publish a book collaborating with my mom, and inspire people to take action based on the emotions my poetry evokes.
VR/WR: Do you like to read poetry? Do you have a favorite poet whose writing you like to read most?
HBD: I don’t necessarily like to read poetry, because I believe poetry is meant to be heard; to enter the ears, hit the heart, and remain in the mind. I love to listen to poetry. I really enjoy listening to poems by Richard Williams (better known as Prince Ea), because he speaks about deeply important issues, in an eloquent, rhythmic way. His poetry wrenches emotion and action out of me.
VR/WR: What would you say to someone who says writing a poem is hard?
HBD: To someone who says writing a poem is hard, I would tell them that they have been writing poetry all their life. They have been living in poetry, because the earth and humanity are poetic. Poetry and writing are the inside of the world. If someone wants to deliberately write a poem, they must allow themselves to feel something strong. Many aspects of the world can inspire deep emotions, like conversations, news, landscapes, music; truly anything can cause a valid feeling in a human. Once they have an emotion, they can find thoughts that attach to this emotion, and figure out what messages and words evoke these feelings and thoughts. When writing, it can help to try and find ways to make the person listening or reading the poem (if the writer chooses to share their art) feel the way the writer does. But, when the poem actually has an audience, everyone will interpret the poem however it best fits their state of mind or heart. It may seem like a lot, but truly, if they just let their thoughts and knowledge and emotions out of the cage of their mind and onto a page, they have poetry. Chances are, if the writer feels something or finds something to be important, someone else will too.
VR/WR: What do you think you might like to do after high school?
HBD: After I graduate from high school, I would like to continue my education with a focus on writing and/or law. I would like to travel the world for speaking engagements that inspire positive change. I want to improve the world through actionable, educational, legal, and physical solutions. I am interested in teaching English in various countries to learn more about the world while sharing the beauty and power of language. I would like to help create a sense of belonging for marginalized identities and instill in youth a feeling of responsibility to be respectful, kind, humane citizens. I would like to be a published author and professional public speaker.
Harmony shares one of her original poems here.
Land
By Harmony Belle Devoe
The past can’t be changed
But the future can be rearranged
If we work and try in the present today,
If we learn and teach and reach and grow
And give and love and burn and sow
These seeds of hope and faith and hurt
The hope we’re kind enough
To share Earth’s dirt
The faith in humanity despite the disparities
The hurt that we’ve faced
Today won’t go to waste
If we make it worthwhile
And don’t see Earth in numbers
Counting each dollar per square mile
If we share and care,
Show we’re aware
And woke
Then possibly,
All the words that we spoke
The backs that have ached
Carrying too much weight
The hearts that have scraped
On the floor of supremacy
The tale of democracy
The remedy for memories
Lost in years of shame and secrecy
The begging for clemency
The talent of tenacity
Won’t go to waste
And as Malcolm X said,
Revolution
Is always based on land
Revolution
Is never based on begging somebody
For an integrated cup of coffee.