Join us for a poetry reading and conversation with Berkeley's current poet laureates, Aya de León, Anita Marie Júlca, and Adalilly Chu.
April is National Poetry Month, so come celebrate with Berkeley's current poet laureates, Aya de León (2024-25 Berkeley Poet Laureate), Anita Marie Júlca (2025 Berkeley Youth Poet Laureate) and Adalilly Chu (2025 Berkeley Vice Youth Poet Laureate). They will be reading and performing their original poetry, before taking part in a community conversation and audience Q&A. This program will take place at the Central Branch (5th Floor) on Monday, April 7th at 6pm and is co-sponsored by Berkeley Civic Arts.
Learn more about the Berkeley Poet Laureate and Berkeley Youth Poet Laureate programs.
ABOUT THE POETS
2024-2025 Berkeley Poet Laureate, Aya de León (she/her/ella) is a poet and the author of ten novels. A graduate of Berkeley High School, she directs the Poetry for the People program at UC Berkeley. Aya's work has appeared in various venues, including Harper’s Bazaar, Ebony, Def Poetry, and she was recently interviewed in the New York Times. In spring 2022, she organized an online conference entitled Black Literature vs. the Climate Emergency.
2025 Berkeley Youth Poet Laureate, Anita Marie Júlca is a senior at Berkeley High School. Anita Marie was a new student to Berkeley High just last year, moving to the Bay Area to take care of her grandmother. An East Coast native, the Peruvian-American poet grew up primarily between Keene, New Hampshire and Queens, New York, before moving to Roma Norte, Mexico City at the age of fifteen. It was while living in Mexico City that Anita Marie fell in love with poetry, almost accidentally. While in the depths of girlhood, trauma, and searching for a language that transcended the barriers of American English and Mexican Spanish, she found poetry. In April 2024, Anita Marie published Whispers of the Storm: A Tale of Healing, a book of original poetry and original illustrations for children healing from abuse, now used by child trauma therapists. She is the president of AWAKE, a club advocating against domestic violence, a member of Berkeley Unified's Sexual Harassment Advisory Committee, and Co-President of the Sustainable Fashion Show. Anita Marie Júlca’s poetry explores violence, healing, and the people around her. She often writes verses shining a light on domestic and sexual violence while honoring resilience and sanctuary, and takes heavy inspiration from her Peruvian, Mexican, and New-England backgrounds.
2025 Berkeley Vice Youth Poet Laureate, Adalilly Chu is a junior at Berkeley High School. She has been loving creative writing since she was four. Besides writing in English, she also writes in Mandarin. She lived in Taiwan for five years and has won many Mandarin writing awards there as an elementary schooler. After returning to America for eighth grade, she faced many challenges with writing in English. However, with the help of people around her, she began to catch up with their English level in America. This experience led her to founding the Youth Literacy Project, a nonprofit that benefits children by helping them learn how to love literature. She is the Executive Director alongside Lea Hireche. Youth Literacy Project hosts Reading Buddies at Berkeley Public Library, an ongoing program since January of 2024. This program does not just impact the families who participate in it but also brings significance to the volunteer community. When she isn't writing, Adalilly enjoys spending time at cafes, drinking cups of chai, and searching for inspiration for her next story. Other than that, she loves to make jewelry, spend time with her family, and read with her friends. She is also a member of the Berkeley High Badminton Team and Berkeley High's Chamber Orchestra.
AGE GROUP: | Teens | Preteens | Families | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Creative | Community Event | Authors, Books & Writing |
