Voices Forward
A Teen Poetry and Public Humanities Initiative
About Voices Forward
Voices Forward is a poetry and public humanities initiative for emerging youth poets (ages 13-19) from across Minnesota. Poets will explore the Smithsonian Folklife Festival’s themes:
- Remembering Together
- Harmonizing Together
- Moving Together
- Building Together
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Questions? Contact Rachel Busse-Aswar |
Call for Poetry Submissions
MHC is seeking poetry submissions from Minnesotan teen writers (age 13-19) reflecting on the themes of America’s 250th Anniversary. All accepted work will be published in Voices Forward, a chapbook that invites young writers to imagine futures for themselves, their communities, and the nation—in their own words!
Contributors will receive a $100 honorarium, feedback on their work from working Minnesota poets, and copies of the published chapbook. Poets will also be invited to read their work at a showcase at the Bell Museum in St. Paul on August 20 (presence is not required for publication).
Submit your work by August 7, 2026!
“This partnership amplifies the voices from communities nationwide and the cultural practices that define them . . .”
– Phoebe Stein, President, Federation of State Humanities Councils
Mentorships, Workshops, and Performances
Through mentorship and workshops with acclaimed Minnesota poets, youth poets will craft poems that remember our past, mark our present, and imagine a shared future.
Throughout the summer of 2026, poets will showcase their original works in public performances. These gatherings will be a key part of Minnesota Humanities Center’s (MHC) commemoration of the Semiquincentennial. MHC will engage communities across the state and explore how remembrance, democracy, and identity intersect locally and nationally.
Voices Forward is part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250.
About By the PeopleBy the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils across the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia in collaboration with local partners. These programs explore 250 years of the nation’s cultural life and imagine its shared future. Learn More |
Events
List of events in Photo View
“. . . By the People invites communities to celebrate their stories and imagine a shared future grounded in creativity and cultural understanding.”
– Halle Butvin, Director of Special Projects, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
