ABOUT
Samuel Getachew is a 19-year-old spoken word poet, writer, and model from Oakland, California.
Using poetry as a way to shine light on contemporary issues as well as an personal outlet for emotion, Samuel has had the opportunity to perform his poetry in places ranging from Google's Incarceration Summit to the Lollapalooza Music Festival, and much more.
His poetry has garnered over a million cumulative views online, and he and his poetry have been featured in The New York Times, The East Bay Express, Refinery29, National Public Radio (NPR), KQED, KTVU News, Voice of America, and more. His poetry has also appeared in numerous anthologies.
In 2021, he became the youngest ever opinion writer to be published in print in The New York Times.
In addition to the Times, his opinion writing and reporting have been published in The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, KQED Arts and Culture, The East Bay Express, and more.
Offstage, Samuel is also a freelance model, and has appeared in i-D Magazine and in campaigns for American Eagle. He is currently a freshman at Yale University.
Awards and Honors:
2017, 2018, and 2019 Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam Grand Champion
2019 Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 100 Honoree
2019 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate
2020 West Coast Youth Poet Laureate
2020 National Youth Poet Laureate Finalist
2020 John Swett Award for Media Excellence
2019, 2020, and 2021 YoungArts Winner in Spoken Word
2021 YoungArts Winner in Creative Nonfiction