Natasha Baldin/Contributor
Victoria’s newest youth poet laureate hopes to uplift others in the arts community.
The City of Victoria and the Greater Victoria Public Library recently announced Eva Haas, 20, as Victoria’s newest youth poet laureate. Haas will be doing her first reading at the Victoria city council meeting tonight (June 8) at 6:30 p.m.
In this role, Haas will celebrate the vibrance of poetry and literature across the city by producing new work, collaborating with other local poets and hosting annual community poetry events. She will hold the position until April 2025.
Haas will be reading an original poem in front of her first audience as youth poet laureate. She said she hopes her poetry resonates with those in attendance.
“I’m nervous, but I think it’s a good thing to feel out of your comfort zone,” she said. “It’s an honour.”
Haas is going into her third year as a creative writing and history student at the University of Victoria. While growing up in St. John’s N.L., she said writing and poetry have always been important parts of her life.
“There has always been a lot of art around me,” she said. “I loved reading from the get-go and I think for a lot of people, including me, once you start reading it makes you want to write.”
Victoria’s youth poet laureate position was the first of its kind in Canada and was created by the Victoria Youth Council in 2013. As the twelfth individual to hold the title, Haas said she hopes to continue to inspire the community through poetry.
“It’s very flattering to be in this position, but I think it’s important to uplift others and to get to know other people and what they’re doing in the arts community, because it’s such a rich community in Victoria,” she said. “I want to use (the role) to meet others, to support others and to hold events where others can share their talents.”
The Victoria city council meeting will be available in-person and online.
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