YOUNGSTOWN — A new program will fund free poetry workshops for 30 Youngstown high school students, and one will end up with a $5,000 scholarship.

CityVerse: A Youth Poetry Showcase was created by Lit Youngstown in partnership with Youngstown City Schools and Stambaugh Auditorium.

“I have been asked many times if there will be a poet laureate of Youngstown, and we may pursue this one day,” Lit Youngstown Director Karen Schubert said. “But first I thought a youth poet initiative would offer a way to city youth to express their beliefs and experience and to be heard.”

CityVerse is open to a maximum of 30 students from Chaney and East high schools and Rayen Early College. Students will take part in six workshops every other Wednesday from 3 to 5 p.m. from March 13 until May 22 that will be taught by poets Shaunda Yancey of Youngstown, Barbara Fant of Columbus and Raja Belle Freeman and Quartez Harris, both of Cleveland.

Participants will read their work at 7 p.m. June 4 at Stambaugh’s Christman Hall. A panel of judges will award five students $100 cash prizes, and one will receive a $5,000 scholarship.

“It is my hope that these youth poets will be invited to open meetings, and to lead peer-to-peer workshops, to be held up in the community,” Schubert said. h prizes, and one will receive a $5,000 scholarship.

“It is my hope that these youth poets will be invited to open meetings, and to lead peer-to-peer workshops, to be held up in the community,” Schubert said. “I hope this program will encourage them to continue to strengthen their voices and find community in other poets’ work.

“There is an incredible legacy of poets of the Youngstown diaspora doing incredible work: Ross Gay, Ama Codjoe, Barbara Fant, Alison Pitinii Davis, Rochelle Hurt and many others, and I see their legacy reaching back to offer a hand up to the young poets in our community today.”

Funding for the program is provided by the Mahoning County commissioners, William Mullane and Betsy Barrickman, Gary and Kathy Salvner, and Sarah Ziegler.

In addition to covering the costs of books and writing supplies for all students, the program also will provide transportation to and from the workshops and pizza for the participants.

“If you’re truly committed to broadening involvement, you have to be available to those who, for whatever reason, don’t have access for getting to and from a place, whether it’s parents working or lack of public transportation or distance,” Mullane said. “To be inclusive is to provide a means of inclusion.”

No prior writing experience is required for participants.

For more information, students can contact school coordinators — Kristen DeToro at East, Maria Pappas at Chaney and Yancey at Rayen.