2025 Commencement Ceremony
2025 Lexington Youth Poet Laureate Eva Alcaraz-Monje
Booking Information
Bio
Eva Alcaraz-Monje (Eh-vah Alka-razz Mon-he) is a senior in the SCAPA Literary Arts program at Lafayette High School. Recently finding a true love for poetry, Eva’s work is inspired by anything seen, heard, or experienced and can be found on coffee shop bags and college interview folders. Outside of poetry, Eva co-edits the Lafayette Times, volunteers at the Northside library, and walks aimlessly around downtown Lexington.
Poems
Appalachia is Contagious
I’ve begun to light cigarettes at noon,
watching the smoke bend across
conifers that reek of corn syrup.
I “bless your heart”
to those I do not love
because they know
I don’t.
My neck bears a cross
that I don’t believe in,
tarnished iron with a simple
remembrance of God
and someone with Him.
I down Ale 8 like honey nectar,
sugar caking the gas station
t-shirt I found on the rack
for spare change.
A knife is secured in my back pocket
with loose denim thread and an urge
to flick it open like swings
on a midnight playground.
Watch me drive on roads
that don’t want to be paved, bumping
some heathen music alongside
the cows and the horses and
the buzzards.
My soul aches
for coleslaw and grits and potato salad
because this is “y’all are family” love,
and I am tired of denying it.
“Dang, this is like something out of a movie”
Onyx pools at our feet, feeding
the rubies and diamonds and emeralds
lining the coast, blinking to show they are
breathing too.
We scream at the night to a girl
I don’t know, and we pray that our
“Happy Birthday”
travels to Cuba with a Saran-wrapped suitcase,
and we suck in the hot air
like rabid dogs because we know
it’s going to be gone pretty soon.
I don’t know you very well but
give me a hug just for
tonight, we are invincible
as long as we empty our souls
in the sand doodles.
Shoulder to shoulder, soldiers to
the war that is leaving the parking lot.
Sitting on the seafoam
floor with our hands grasped tight
so y’all
don’t float out of my memory
is fun. Want to try?
Milanesa
“Milanesa, noun, a thin slice of beef, dipped into beaten eggs, seasoned with salt and other condiments, dipped in breadcrumbs and shallow-fried in oil.”
- Breadcrumbs in the pan,
ones that used to be
crushed by your mother’s hands.
Day old stale bread bought
on the panaderia
on the corner
with your childish fingers
in her wrought ones
that begged for sweetened layers
and rotted your teeth dark
brown, like you.
- Egg wash in the other,
(you always said
keep it second and separate)
spiced with the pap-rrrik-ah
bought on the corner
of the strip mall,
where our tongue congregates
in a sea of sale stickers.
- Thin sliced meat, whatever you’d like,
we’re not picky,
just whatever can be found.
If you’re smart like us,
knead a thick slab
with a harsh and gentle
awakening
for maximum outcome.
- Now dip,
watch it ebb and flow
from dry to wet.
Dip into each part of you,
the one that exists
on the dusty cobblestone
and in the boisterous laughter
and around the swirling mountains
and outside of here.
- Heat the skillet.
Yes, the electric will work just fine.
Do you hear the sizzle,
the thumping speakers
that spill striking accordions?
Pour the oil generously,
let it tumble out
like the drawn out melodies.
- Let it sit and fry
till the color of your eyes
shine through,
dark honey and hazel
like our roots beckoned.
Never let
the jet black strands
shine through,
or else a pile of ash
will spew off the griddle.
- Pick it out.
Drag it into a new country
a new home,
a new life,
a new name.
Aim to be gentle,
but if it’s a little sudden,
it’s alright,
you both were taught to prosper
on the hard white
porcelain platter.
- Grab the knife,
serrated edges
with the mahogany base
we stole from Abuela.
She hasn’t noticed yet.
Maybe the one with the square blade,
the one you crafted
just like your father,
woodworker on the side.
You look like him you know,
same long sad face
of a stubborn life.
- Cut deep,
listen to the flesh tear.
We are rabid animals;
when the tender meat
falls onto our plates,
we must hold back
our ancestral urges.
- Squeeze the lemon,
cut with the same knife,
a blossom of the quince tree
or the ciruelo
in Tia’s backyard
that refuses to die
in the whirlwinds
of this unpredictable life.
- Consume whole,
lick your lips,
let your thick smile
crawl onto your face.
Do you want some more?
Youth Poet Laureate Competition
The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning is proud to announce its continuation of Kentucky’s first Youth Poet Laureate chapter in Lexington. This prestigious program, in partnership with Urban Word NYC and the Kentucky Arts Council, is designed to honor young writers and leaders in Kentucky between the ages of 13-18, who are committed to making a civic impact through community engagement utilizing the power of their written and spoken words. We strongly believe that when we honor young people and give them this kind of office, the community is more likely to listen to what they have to say.
YPL Class: Thursdays in OCT
YPL Application window: NOV-DEC 10th
YPL Judging: DEC
YPL Finalists Announced by: January 10
YPL Finalists Meet-up*: January 17
YPL COMMENCEMENT**: Jan 31st
*This meet-up is to ensure students are properly prepared and knowledgeable about the expectations, were they to win the commencement. (Most importantly, the $500 stipend is given upfront to compensate for all speaking engagements through that year)
**This is the competition where our finalists will be given a chance to perform their poetry and be graded by a panel of judges. Light snacks provided.
This program is offered in partnership with Urban Word NYC and the Kentucky Arts Council.
For full program details, click HERE.
About the National Youth Poet Laureate Program
The National Youth Poet Laureate Program is an Urban Word NYC (UW) initiative— in collaboration with local youth literary arts organizations across the country. The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities— championed by the leading national literary organizations, including the Academy of American Poets, Poetry Society of America, PEN Center USA, and Cave Canem. Read more about the National Youth Poet Laureate Program here: https://www.youthlaureate.org/home
Eligibility
• Be a Fayette County, Kentucky resident between the ages of 13 and 18.
• Be available to serve as Lexington Youth Poet Laureate for the December 2024-December 2025 program year.
• Live locally throughout the program year.
• Not be enrolled in college full-time during the program year.
Prizes
- $500 stipend to support the YPL as they give readings and workshops with other organizations and groups.
- Professional mentorship from a local poet/activist ($500 value)
- Poetry featured in a chapbook and copies of the chapbook.
- Free access to one of the Nikky Finney Writer Cubbies at the Carnegie Center for a year (business hours only).
- Community project support from the Carnegie Center.
- Several free writing classes at the Carnegie Center.
- Help cultivating their public speaking rhetorical style.
- Opportunity to compete in the Regional Youth Poet Laureate Competition.
Duties
• Inspire civic engagement, social justice, cultural awareness, and literary excellence.
• Develop a community project to grow your writing craft and inspire our communities.
• Attend and perform at public and/or private events (at least four).
• Share your experiences, writing process, and values on online platforms.
• Write one “clean” poem for the Carnegie Center website.
• Submit three poems for the national anthology by Urban Word.
Application Process
• Three original poems showing your content, craft, and voice (10 pages or less).
• Artist statement that tells us who you are and what poetry means to you (250 words or less).
• Resume with a list of awards, community service, work experience, and/or activism.
• Contact info of an adult sponsor who knows your writing, school performance, and/or community involvement.
• Parent/guardian’s contact info (unless you’re 18 by December 31, 2024).
