Alondra Bobadilla, Boston Youth Poet Laureate: With Clipped Wings — Book Launch

*Please note that this program is now taking place in the Rabb Lecture Hall in the Lower Level of the Johnson Building of the Central Library in Copley Square due to the likelihood of rain. Masks are required in this space.*

Join the Boston Public Library, the City of Boston Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture, and Boston Youth Poet Laureate Alondra Bobadilla in celebrating the launch of her debut collection of poetry, With Clipped Wings. Alondra will be welcomed by Chief of Arts and Culture for the City of Boston, Kara Elliott-Ortega. Alondra will read some of her work along with City of Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola and youth poet Tariq Charles, and there will be a folklore, jazz, and Latin performance by Puerto Rican cuatro player Fabiola M. Mendez.

This program, originally scheduled for 6/30, will take place in the McKim Building Courtyard of the Central Library in Copley Square. In the event of inclement weather, the program will be moved inside to the Rabb Lecture Hall. Registration is not required, but non-reserved seating for this program begins at 5:30 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis. This event will also be live-streamed on the BPL's YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/7NOYTqqMfFk.

Alondra Bobadilla was named Boston's inaugural Youth Poet Laureate in January 2020, and has since worked tirelessly to celebrate and uplift poetry across the entire city. She has participated in countless events, including reading at a Boston Celtics game, attending Recovery Youth Prevention talks, and sharing her work at several events for Women's History Month, to name a few. Over the past year and a half, she has collaborated with the Boston Lyric Opera, the Boston Children's Museum, the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Mayor's Office of Women's Advancement, City Councilor Julia Mejia, Youth Advocacy Foundation, and more.

porsha olayiwola is the author of the collection "I shimmer sometimes, too" and is the current poet laureate for the City of Boston. She is a 2020 Academy of American Poets Poet Laureate Fellow, an MFA Candidate at Emerson College, and a World Poetry Slam Champion.

Fabiola M. Mendez is a Puerto Rican cuatro player that has taken part in a musical movement, crossing over the lines of genres such as folkloric, jazz & Latin. A graduate from Berklee College of Music '18, Fabiola has worked and performed for artists such as: Totó La Momposina, Eddie Palmieri, Puerto Rican Symphony Orchestra, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Cucco Peña, and Pedro Capó, among others. She was a luminary at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and currently works as an independent artist all around New England, collaborating with organizations such as Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA), Celebrity Series of Boston, Hyde Square Task Force, PR Veterans Monument Association, and Agora Cultural Architects. In her most recent album “Afrorriqueña” (2021), Fabiola reflects on the experience of being black Puerto Rican woman. Each piece of the album was inspired by a poem written by various Puerto Rican poets in aims to take the listener through the feelings of pride, beauty, cultural responsibility, and love for our afro roots.

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