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QUEENS WEEKLY, DEC. 30, 2018
York College student’s poetry brings social awareness
CAMRYN BRUNO
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Camryn Bruno was
named New York City’s
2019 Youth Poet Laureate
in November.
The 19-year-old student
from York College in
Jamaica hopes to use her
new platform to elevate
social issues through poetry
and spoken word.
Urban Word NYC and
NYC Votes sponsored the
poetry contest, which Bruno
described as a “monthlong,
vigorous” workshop
involving herself and 14
other finalists.
Since 2008, Urban
Word NYC has been bestowing
teens between
the ages of 14 to 19 the
honor of Youth Poet Laureate.
As the 2019 winner,
Bruno will get the opportunity
to publish a book
of poetry with Penmanship
books, in addition
to conducting a reading
tour and special appearances
for one year.
“We are very proud of
Camryn Bruno and the
fact that York College is
host to New York City’s
2019 Youth Poet Laureate,”
Interim Chancellor
Vita C. Rabinowitz said.
“Through her words, Camryn
encourages us all to
think critically about the
world and to become civically
engaged. As Camryn
progresses through CUNY
and beyond, we know she
will continue to call attention
to important issues
in our society.”
The winning poem
is called “Politics Bite,”
which Bruno said was a
call for citizens to vote. Her
inspiration for the piece
stemmed from the outrage
and apathy that people felt
for the government despite
“persistent inequality and
corruption.”
She shared a phrase
often spoken in Trinidad
and Tobago, where she
was raised, wherein people
said that “politicians
are dogs.” Playing on this
theme, Bruno employed
the use of metaphors to
compare animals to “the
system and politics.”
Originally born in
Queens before going to
Trinidad and Tobago, Bruno
said she loved “seeing
protests and people taking
action” but didn’t know
how to participate in those
types of activities.
She was introduced
to spoken-word poetry in
2014 as a participant in
the 2 Cents Movement, a
spoken-word poetry program
back in Tobago.
Through the program
she met Derron Sandy,
who would later serve as
her mentor and encouraged
her to develop her
skills.
“I used to write all the
time, but I didn’t think
that what I was writing
was spoken-word poetry,”
Bruno said.
As she progressed, she
said she learned to use
her poetry as a tool to convey
important messages
related to marginalized
groups including women,
immigrants and minorities
as well as issues such
as colorism, racism and
the Black Lives Matter
movement.
“I think it’s more about
getting the social issues
out there, and that’s where
I started off, writing
about teenage pregnancy
and the school-to-prison
pipeline,” said Bruno.
“It’s really about finding
social issues and finding
a new way to speak about
them.”
During her yearlong
appointment as Youth
Poet Laureate, Bruno
said that she is excited
to get the opportunity to
“speak for and to youth
around New York City.”
She added that it’s always
“amazing, refreshing and
motivating” to see the impact
her words have on
the youth and hopes to
work as teaching artist in
the future.
Bruno participated
in Bishop High School’s
poetry slam each year
until she graduated. The
decorated author has won
the 2015 Zelma A. Cowie
Award for Civic Mindedness,
the Ms. Tobago
Heritage Personality
Competition, and several
Trinidad and Tobago National
Literary Youth
Awards.
In 2017, she became the
youngest competitor to
win Trinidad and Tobago’s
First Citizens Bank
National Poetry Slam
Championship.
To learn more about
Bruno, visit her website
at camrynbruno.com
Contact the newsroom:
718-260-4545
timesledgernews@cnglocal.com
link
/camrynbruno.com
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