"The book's array of perspectives includes imaginative explorations of ancestry and belonging from Mei Chung and Katelyn Wong. Gupta and Paloma Francesca Carrubba explore the impacts of a racist and misogynistic external world on individual internal lives. McCulloch and Zofia Mosur do battle with existential dread using their own words. Ava Perez and Claribel Caamal Amodei write of the terror and trepidation of living under the threat of ICE."
"Throughout the upcoming year, Gupta and McCulloch will act as cultural ambassadors for the city, through civic engagement and sharing of their work. All of the students who participated in the program will appear at Youth Speaks' Annual Teen Poetry Slam this Spring in San Francisco, which will be livestreamed on Youth Speaks' YouTube channel. During the launch of the Youth Poet Laureate Program, Mayor Daniel Lurie noted:"
San Francisco selected 17-year-old Karan Gupta as Youth Poet Laureate with Aisha Rae McCulloch as Vice Youth Poet Laureate. Gupta, born and raised in San Francisco, inherited a love of writing from his father; his poem "They say Grief Arrives in an Instant but I Watched You Leave for Months" addresses losing his father. The collection gathers voices exploring ancestry and belonging, the impacts of racism and misogyny, existential dread, and the terror of living under ICE, alongside lyrical odes to San Francisco. Gupta and McCulloch will serve as cultural ambassadors, participants will perform at a livestreamed Teen Poetry Slam, and the book will be sold at 826 Valencia and available online starting Jan. 26, 2026. A statement praised the young poets' bold voices and creativity.
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