Salaam Green, Birmingham’s poet laureate, has earned a national honor that will support her work with young people in detention. The Academy of American Poets awarded her a 2025 Laureate Fellowship, which includes $50,000 to launch a community-based poetry program.
Green will use the fellowship to lead Lyrics for Life Birmingham, a 10-week poetry and hip-hop workshop for teens at the Jefferson Youth Detention Center. She’s developing the initiative alongside the Magic City Poetry Festival and Radical Reversal, two organizations known for fusing art with advocacy.
“This fellowship is an extraordinary honor,” Green said. “Poetry helps us understand joy, grief, injustice, and healing. Teaching it as a tool for growth and self-expression is at the heart of my work. I’m eager to bring this program to youth who are so often unheard.”
A Project Rooted in Southern Storytelling
Green grew up in Greensboro, Alabama, a Black Belt town with deep historical roots. Her poetry often reflects the region’s struggles and strengths, exploring topics like racial healing, spirituality, and Southern resilience.
As part of the fellowship, she’ll also share work from her new poetry collection, “The Other Revival.” The book tells the stories of people descended from those once enslaved on Alabama plantations.
Bridging Art and Community
Beyond poetry, Green has spent years working at the intersection of education, activism, and the arts. She has served as a Kellogg Foundation Racial Healing Facilitator, a Road Scholar for the Alabama Humanities Alliance, and a Healing Arts Practitioner. Her past residencies include UAB, Auburn University, and the Wallace Center for Arts and Reconciliation.
Her work consistently amplifies underrepresented voices and encourages people to see storytelling as a path to justice and connection.
National Recognition for Local Impact
Green joins 22 other fellows across the U.S. who are using poetry to strengthen their communities. The Academy of American Poets praised their efforts to make the literary arts more accessible and impactful.
“At a time when more readers are turning to poetry to make sense of the world around us,” said Academy board chair Tess O’Dwyer, “these poets are offering cultural insight and civic engagement through their words and actions.”
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