Photo courtesy of Ailin Sha

Mayor Michelle Wu and the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture announced that after a competitive search process, 18-year-old poet and writer Ailin Sha has been selected as Boston's next Youth Poet Laureate. Sha officially started the role on February 1 and will serve until January 2028. Sha is an accomplished young writer whose poetry explores identity, voice, and belonging.

"I'm honored to announce Ailin Sha as Boston's next Youth Poet Laureate. As an accomplished writer, poet, violinist and civic leader, her artistry and creativity will inspire our communities and empower our young creative leaders," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "I'm proud to celebrate her leadership and the positive influence she'll have in our creative communities through her work, rooted in themes of belonging."

Established in 2019, the Boston Youth Poet Laureate (BYPL) celebrates the power of poetry to elevate youth voices and engage communities across Boston. The BYPL program is a collaboration between the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture, the national youth literary organization Urban Word, and local youth literary organizers from the Boston Public Library, Mass Poetry, Fine Arts Work Center, 826 Boston, and GrubStreet.

"It's truly an honor to be named Boston's fourth Youth Poet Laureate," said Ailin Sha, incoming Boston Youth Poet Laureate. "I'm excited to use poetry to connect young people to one another and help strengthen access to the arts throughout our city."

The Boston Youth Poet Laureate is a two-year ceremonial role that elevates a young poet as a literary ambassador for the city. In partnership with the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture, the current Boston Poet Laureate, and Boston's cultural institutions—including schools, libraries, and museums—the Youth Poet Laureate brings poetry into public spaces, classrooms, and civic conversations where it is not always found.

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Through public readings, workshops, and special projects, the program supports young poets to use their creative voices to reflect and shape the city around them. The BYPL program celebrates poetry as a powerful tool for expression, connection, and civic engagement in young people's lives.

"Ailin wears her heritage as a badge of honor and it shines through her writing," said Emmanuel Oppong-Yeboah, Boston Poet Laureate. "As a proud Asian American immigrant, Ailin writes to celebrate all the aspects of her layered identity – her poetry is moving, lyric, and insightful. I'm proud to support her as she steps into an influential role. She will be a phenomenal youth poet laureate for our city!"

Sha, 18, grew up in Beijing, China, and came to the U.S. when she was 11 years old. She lives inFenway and graduated from Boston Latin School. She is currently a freshman at Harvard University, where she is studying English and Economics with a minor in Film. Sha is an accomplished writer whose honors include being named the 2024 Massachusetts State Champion of the Poetry Out Loud competition, as well as receiving State Gold Keys and a National Silver Medal from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

In addition to her work as a poet, Sha is a skilled musician and deeply involved in her local community. For seven years, she played the violin with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, performed in her high school orchestra, and spearheaded monthly performances at Mount Pleasant Home in Jamaica Plain for senior residents—experiences that strengthened her belief in the power of art to connect people across generations and backgrounds.

Sha's commitment to civic engagement includes two years as an ambassador for the Mayor's Youth Council and for A-VOYCE (Asian Voices of Youth for Community Empowerment at the Asian Community Development Corporation), where she worked alongside residents to preserve and celebrate community stories. She also interned at the Roxbury Defenders branch of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, fielding calls from incarcerated clients seeking legal assistance.

Inspired by her experience teaching English poetry to students at her former primary school in Beijing, China, and through the SPARK public service program at Harvard, Sha wants to continue helping young people in Boston discover joy in expressing themselves through poetry. Her goal is to make poetry a more present art form in Boston, using it to build connections across generations, neighborhoods, and identities.

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She envisions launching a Youth Poetry Workshop Series at the Boston Public Library—monthly gatherings where young writers can explore poetry as a means of self-expression, connection, and bringing awareness to issues they care about. Sha is also excited to develop a Poetry Pen Pal Project connecting students across Boston Public Schools, inviting young people from different schools, neighborhoods, and backgrounds to exchange original poems inspired by shared prompts, fostering creativity, empathy, and friendships across the city.

Applications for the role were reviewed by a Selection Panel consisting of a distinguished group of local literary professionals. The Selection Panel evaluated all entries and held interviews with the final candidates.

"Ailin's poems move like light through uncertainty, carrying questions of home, language, and belonging," said Angela Veizaga, Chief of Youth & Family Engagement at the Boston Public Library and member of the selection panel. "Writing as a young Chinese immigrant, she gives voice to identity at a moment when it is being publicly tested, meeting that pressure not with fear, but with clarity and quiet bravery. Her work reminds us how poetry can hold truth when the world feels unsteady."

Sha will be Boston's fourth Youth Poet Laureate, following Parker-Vincent Alva (2024-2025), Anjalequa Birkett (2022-2023), and Alondra Bobadilla (2020-2021).

The announcement was made during the Boston Youth Poet Showcase on Saturday, January 31, 2026 at the Central Branch of the Boston Public Library. In addition to naming the laureate, the event celebrated the achievements of the other five talented finalists:

• Rajika Rex Bajgain, 18, Jamaica Plain, student at Boston University, graduate of Boston Latin School
• Ella Doubek, 13, Roslindale, student at Boston Arts Academy.
• Zakea Lowe, 17, Mattapan, student at Boston Latin School
• Aminata Mboum, 13, Mattapan, student at Boston Latin School
• Alisa Paley, 15, Hyde Park, student at Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School

To learn more about the Boston Youth Poet Laureate program, visit boston.gov/youth-poet. Sha is available for readings, workshops, and civic events. For more information, please contact Thomas Johnston, thomas.johnston@boston.gov.

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