Rockford Youth Poet Laureate was listening to Shakespeare before she was even born
ROCKFORD — When Giulyana Gamero talks about her identity, she's not talking about her proud Mexican-Puerto Rican heritage.
"I mean who we are beneath our exterior appearance," she said. "And for me, that is being open minded and always instilling good into the world versus negativity. That's who I am."
The Auburn High School junior also is the 2022 City of Rockford Youth Poet Laureate.
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The high honor was bestowed upon her this week by the Rockford Area Arts Council, in partnership with the Rockford Public Library and the City of Rockford.
"The quality of Giulyana’s work, combined with her commitment to her craft, makes her the stand-out candidate for the 2022 Youth Laureate Award," said Mary McNamara Bernsten, executive director of the Rockford Area Arts Council. "Giulyana has an open mind and an open heart. She is both articulate and passionate. Giulyana’s work demonstrates her grasp of the art of poetry and the human experience.”
Over the next 12 months, the city's youth poet laureate will be focused on workshops and special events within Rockford that focus on various writing styles with an emphasize on culture and identity.
"With these events, there is hope for unity and for the blossoming of friendships among the youth in Rockford," she said. "Communication with other poets and writers is so important and everyone deserves the opportunity to find solace within writing accompanied by solace within knowing you are not alone in your passions.”
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Giulyana, who is enrolled in Auburn's gifted program, said she has enjoyed putting pen to paper since she was a youngster.
"I was in first grade, and I could barely string sentences together," she said. "But I would write little stories on notebook paper, and I would staple it up and show it to my mom. And I would be like, 'Look what I just made.'
"I've always loved the act of creation and the act of telling stories."
Giulyana's mother, Soe, who also enjoys reading and writing, admitted to playing a role in her daughters love of writing. She said she not only read to her daughter while she was in and out of the womb the likes of Dr. Seuss but also a few other notable authors.
"Believe or not, I also read Shakespeare to her in Spanish," she said.
Giulyana's passion for writing has not waned but evolved. She said her favorite forms of poetry are slam, spoken word and free verse.
Giulyana also expresses herself through her paintings, drawings and music.
"I recognize with a lot of my arts I may not be the most technically proficient," she said. "For example, keyboard. I can do a few chords here and there, but I write my own songs. You know what I mean? I put my heart into that, and I think that's what matters.
"You don't have to know what an iambic pentameter is to write poetry. You just have to have a heart and put it into your (craft)."
Giulyana is undecided on what college she will attend, but said she is already working on writing her first novel.
Chris Green: cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford Youth Poet Laureate determined to share love of writing
