The City of Windsor has appointed a new youth poet laureate to serve as an ambassador for the literary arts scene.
Chidera Ikewibe is an Igbo Nigerian Canadian artist and poet whose work often incorporates Nsibidi, an ideographic/pictographic writing system from south eastern Nigeria.
She'll serve in the role until August 2025.
"I want to connect with our multicultural youth and encourage them to explore themselves and their cultural identity through poetry, through workshops, and programs, and new opportunities," said Ikewibe. "I believe that poetry goes beyond the written word and can be accessed through drawing, painting, and singing to engage fellow youths and allow them to see themselves in sectors they are often underrepresented."
Ikewibe is pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and English and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor. She's been a collage poetry instructor with Art Windsor-Essex, a radio show host with CJAM 99.1 Fm, and a poetry instructor at the Youth Wellness Hub Windsor.
In 2018, Ikewibe won an Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association award for a play she wrote about the Nigerian Civil War. Her work has also been published in anthologies, including Voices #1, Island Shores Anthology, and Catch the Whispers and Passages of the Heart by the Poetry Institute of Canada.
Her work often focuses on race and ethnicity, anti-Black racism, institutional decolonization, and the Black Diaspora.
"The City's Poet Laureate and Storytellers Program continue to help us record and share the stories that shape our city while teaching us the value of unique voices and new perspectives," said Mayor Drew Dilkens. "We continue to see how this program is a vehicle to increased inclusivity and a greater understanding and appreciation for our diverse, multicultural community."
Her application was supported by Doctor Susan Holbrook, a writer and professor with the Department of English and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor, past Youth Poet Laureate Alexei Ungurenasu, and spoken-word artist and storyteller Mbonisi Zikhali.
To the artist of devine things
By Chidera Ikewibe
-— For Cynthia Fraschetti
Recontextualize the world for me --
through your gentle hands.
Crafting the perceived uncraftable
avocado pits
and
hurricane spits,
you remind me the dandelions
are just unexpected flowers.
What genomes germinate
Your arcane geometry?
That tells you when to smooth
the stone or leave it jagged,
Jaded with jade, gemmed in
serpentine. A mirror back to
nature. Nurturer of the flame
That bends harsh metal into
pea pods.
I see a stone.
You see a masterpiece.
Could you please read the
World back for me?
-- with your art perhaps
scattered rocks translate
into a wearable symphony.
Pin brooches of agate, resin
and spiritual mimicry.
You, translator of the earthen
World. Tell me how you do it --
make devine things common
and common things devine?