Husnaa Haajarah Hashim sees poetry as transformative A former Philadelphia Youth Poet Laureate, Penn junior Hashim reflects on her writing and scholarship during this moment when Amanda Gorman, the youngest presidential inaugural poet, is bringing national attention to poetry. Husnaa Haajarah Hashim, a Philadelphia Youth Poet Laureate, is a junior at Penn, an Africana studies major, and creative writing minor.
Watching Amanda Gorman, the first National Youth Poet Laureate, perform her poem at the presidential inauguration, Penn junior Husnaa Haajarah Hashim
thought of herself as a 10-year-old African American girl getting her poetry published for the first time.
Hashim is one of the celebrated young writers, like 22-year-old Gorman, in a new generation of poets.