Meet Nigerian named US national youth poet laureate

Daniel Umemezie, a Nigerian-American poet, has been chosen as the 2026-2027 U.S. National Youth Poet Laureate, making him both the tenth laureate and the second Nigerian-American to hold the title. The U.S. Mission Nigeria announced his selection on Friday, describing him as a gifted voice who explores themes of heritage, identity, and the complexities of the Nigerian-American experience.

Umemezie follows in the footsteps of Salome Agbaroji, the first Nigerian-American to receive the honour in 2023. The title highlights outstanding young poets in the United States and offers a platform for their work to reach broader audiences. Umemezie’s poetry showcases the richness and complexity of his experiences, delving into questions of culture and identity as he navigates life between different worlds.

At the age of 18, Umemezie was chosen from a large pool of young writers and local youth poets laureate across the United States. In an interview with PBS NewsHour, he revealed that he grew up in Nigeria and developed an early interest in art, music, and various forms of creative expression. The move to the United States when he was 13 exposed him to significant cultural differences.

His poetry often reflects the duality of his upbringing, with one Nigeria described as a place where words are rain on zinc tongues and laughter rumbles down the yellow throat of traffic, while the other is a land of generators coughing and street preachers laying hands on potholes. As the new U.S. National Youth Poet Laureate, Umemezie is expected to travel across the country for readings and workshops, using his platform to champion social justice, political participation, and self-exploration.