March FIRST FRIDAY TEEN OPEN MIC & WORKSHOP!

Friday, March 1
@Chapter 510
Writing Workshop | 4:30–5:30
Open Mic | 5:30-7pm

Bring your pen, paper, POWER, and freshly penned poems to Chapter 510 on Friday, March 1!

Our Youth Advisory Board is hosting a spring First Friday Open Mic and FREE writing workshop! Ages 13-19 are all welcome, regardless of level. If you have past experience performing, or it's your first time on the mic, speak out and share your voice!

This month, we are so excited to welcome Serena and Julia, Berkeley Youth Poet Laureates, as our featured poets!

Julia Segrè (she/her) is a 16 year old poet and athlete at Berkeley High. She started writing in her 7th grade English class, as part of her school's Oratorical Fest. Since then, she has been writing as a way to explore topics such as femininity, identity, folktales, and the way words shape every corner of our community. Through spoken word, she hopes to inspire the next generation to continue to create change through vulnerability. She served as the Alameda County co-Vice Youth Poet Laureate in 2022 and is the 2024 Berkeley Youth Poet Laureate. She is also a member of SPOKES, the youth advisory board for Youth Speaks. When not writing, you can find her playing or coaching Ultimate Frisbee, hiking, or playing guitar. 

Serena Griffin, age 16, has been a songwriter for as long as she can remember — she comes from a family of musicians — and got her start in poetry in 2022 after realizing the process of songwriting and poetry writing are “essentially the same.” She enjoys writing about things that are “bigger than life” — like space. She’s often the youngest person in the room when she sings her original songs to the crowd at La Peña Cultural Center’s open mic nights. Outside of music, she’s a busy climate activist and sits on the UN Ocean Decade’s youth advisory council.