National Youth Poet Laureate Daniel Umemezie on using his words to bridge worlds

By — Fred de Sam Lazaro Fred de Sam Lazaro By — Sam Lane Sam Lane By — Simeon Lancaster Simeon Lancaster Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/national-youth-poet-laureate-daniel-umemezie-on-using-his-words-to-bridge-worlds Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio For a decade, the National Youth Poet Laureate program has honored some of the country’s top young writers who are using their work to inspire social change. Fred de Sam Lazaro recently sat down with the 2026-2027 laureate in his hometown of Cedar Falls, Iowa. It’s part of our arts and culture series, CANVAS. Listen to this Segment By — Fred de Sam Lazaro Fred de Sam Lazaro Fred de Sam Lazaro is director of the Under-Told Stories Project at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, a program that combines international journalism and teaching. He has served with the PBS NewsHour since 1985 and is a regular contributor and substitute anchor for PBS' Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. By — Sam Lane Sam Lane Sam Lane is reporter/producer in PBS NewsHour's segment unit. @lanesam By — Simeon Lancaster Simeon Lancaster