Otter Jung-Allen just embarked on a one-year term as the Youth Poet Laureate of Philadelphia.
Jung-Allen, 16, is a resident of West Philadelphia and a rising senior at Science Leadership Academy.
After applying for the position, Jung-Allen was ecstatic to hear they would be the fourth Youth Poet Laureate. Yolanda Wisher, the city’s adult Poet Laureate, will mentor Jung-Allen, reviewing their writing and guiding their art.
“I like writing about people,” Jung-Allen said about their art. “I like writing about things that affect my friends, my family and the people in my community. I think that it’s really hard to find youth voices that are given such a high platform to share their words and the injustices that they’re facing. So all I can hope to do is kind of be like a filter for all the voices in my community, and then hope to uplift all of those other voices that aren’t getting uplifted, and bring them with me.”
As the first transgender Youth Poet Laureate, Jung-Allen hopes to increase visibility for the LGBT community.
“For trans visibility in Philly, it’s great,” Jung-Allen said in reference to their new title, adding, “I’m really happy other young trans people will see me and say, ‘Hey, look, maybe I could do that.’”
However, Jung-Allen acknowledged that they cannot serve as an accurate representation of the entire trans community.
“I’m trans, but I’m a very specific brand of trans. I’m young, I’m white, I’m able-bodied, I have a lot of privilege in my trans-ness,” they said, noting, however, they hope to “show people that trans artists and trans poets have a lot to say.”
Though Jung-Allen had to learn to “roll with the punches” and deal with the challenges of coming out, their family and friends have been supportive of their identity,
“Of course when you come out to your family, there’s going to be a lot of pushback and there’s going to be a lot of hostility because people don’t understand.”
Jung-Allen has been writing poetry since they were in third grade and coaches the poetry team at Science Leadership Academy, along with Veronica Nochella. Jung-Allen wants to continue performing in college. They are a self-proclaimed “theater nerd” and plan on majoring in musical theater.
Along with their love for performance, they also want to be a teacher in a public or inner-city school, helping youth like those they write about.
“I want to help people, man,” Jung-Allen said.
Along with the position of Youth Poet Laureate, Jung-Allen was also selected as the 2015 Brave New Voices International Champion and the 2015 Liberty Unplugged Champion.