Youth Poet Laureate Reception

Madison Poet Laureate Steven Espada Dawson and the Madison Arts Commission are inviting the public to the opening reception and poetry reading for the City of Madison’s new Youth Poet Laureate, Octavia Ikard.

The event will take place on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, at 5:30pm in room 201 of the Madison Municipal Building, located at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. An elevator is available by the staircase at the Doty Street end of the building.

This celebration marks the inaugural reading for Ikard. The reading will also feature poems from Madison Poet Laureate Steven Dawson, Youth Arts Ambassador Dawry Ruiz, and outgoing Youth Poet Laureate Justin Festge Russell. After the reception, Ikard will read a poem to open the Madison Common Council Meeting.

Octavia is the fourth Youth Poet Laureate for Madison, following Madeleine Bohn (2022-2023), Maliha Nu’Man (2023-2024), and Justin Festge Russell (2024-2025).

Learn More About the Youth Poet Laureate