City of Mississauga welcomes its fifth Youth Poet Laureate

The City of Mississauga is pleased to announce that Tahira Rajwani will be its fifth Youth Poet Laureate. Tahira will hold this position from 2025 to 2027 and will serve as a literary ambassador for youth in the city, as well as help elevate the status of poetry, literary arts and young writers through community poetry events and projects.

Tahira is a spoken word artist whose work is rooted in themes of diaspora and women’s empowerment. She was recently shortlisted for the 2024 League of Canadian Poets Spoken Word Award and nominated for the Emerging Literary Arts category of the 2024 Mississauga Arts Awards. As runner-up in Button Poetry’s 2022 Poem Cover Content, she has been seen on poetry slam podiums across the GTA. With a passion for fostering arts, Tahira is a founding member of Sauga Poetry, a local open mic series. In April 2025, she will take part in the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam in Vancouver.

Every two years, the City embarks on a search for its new Youth Poet Laureate. This honourary position recognizes a young poet who writes excellent poetry or spoken word and has written on themes that are relevant to the residents of Mississauga.

Tahira will take over the role starting on April 9 from, Lisa Shen.

The public can expect to hear from the new Youth Poet Laureate at the City’s sixth annual Poetry Slam on April 24. She will also make an appearance as part of the Canada Day celebrations at Celebration Square on July 1.

As a way to kick-off her new role and celebrate National Poetry Month, Tahira read from one of her poems titled, April (see verse below) at today’s General Committee meeting.

April

It has been a long Winter
But here, the snow gives way
The clocks move past this season of grey sky
April leaves forgiveness on our doorstep
For all the things we said in the cold

At dawn, sunlight gently wraps her rays
Against these suburban window panes
Coats come undone button by button
And how easy laughter become again
Without the weight of all these layers of uncertainty

Survival is always hardest in the dark
The night is always longest before the day
Summer is always a promise we are unsure
Will be kept another year

But how resilient we are
How forgiving
How practiced
At unfurling into this hope
At stepping into the light
Again

It is hard to remember sometimes
That better days are just a horizon away
This grief always feels so long
A winter solstice of ache

But look, we made it another
Season
Look, at how the blossoms reemerge
Look, at how all this doubt
Melts into the soil
And leaves only
Softness in its wake

Quote

“We’re thrilled to welcome Tahira as our new Youth Poet Laureate. A rising talent among poets and writers, she emerged from a promising pool of applicants. As she embarks on her new journey with Mississauga, we know that she’s ready to inspire our acting creatives, while continuing to elevate Mississauga’s literary scene.”
– Lisa Boyce-Gonsalves, Acting Director of Recreation and Culture, City of Mississauga

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• Arts and Culture