Cael Dueñas-Lara, the 2025 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate, has been making waves all over Oakland with performances, school visits, and workshops.
We had the opportunity to ask him some questions and are pleased to share Cael’s thoughts about Oakland, poetry, the program, and more. Here's what he had to say!
What does the Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Program mean to you?
(It) means everything. It's provided me a spot where I can share my voice. It’s provided me audiences that listen to me. It's provided me a community of writers and thinkers that care about the world and care about Oakland just like I do. I wouldn't be who I am today without the program. I now try to do for other people what the program has done for me, and that is to give them their voice. I'm forever grateful for the opportunities it’s given to me.
What do you hope to accomplish during your year as the OYPL? You are the youngest ever OYPL. How do you plan to continue engaging with the program throughout your high school years?
I hope that I can plant seeds in the minds of Oakland youth so they know that they don’t have to stay bored - that they have programs in line for them that want them to succeed, like the OYPL program.
When Oakland youth get bored, they put their energy outside onto the streets, and that’s where we lose them to the system. These kids are smart and instead of having them focus on outside, my goal is for them to reach inside their little minds and produce the greatness that each one of them carries, whether that be poetry or other forms of art or sports. Because I have lots of time in Oakland, I plan to nurture the seed I plant because, while yes anyone can plant, you must be able to nurture the seed.
So, with my time in my hometown, The Town, I hope to nurture those seeds I plant.
You take the role of OYPL very seriously. How do you think this title and this year will impact your life, long term?
I think it’ll make me care a lot more about the way I show up in spaces.
I understand that not only do I represent myself, but Oakland. And yes, people view Oakland through this lens of lawlessness and defect, but when I show up I hope to show just a sliver of the beauty that Oakland creates. I'm not talking about me, but my words and the kids that I reach.
That is the impact of having the title: carrying the city on your back but also lifting it to a higher standard than what it is now, because truly that’s what it deserves.
How do you see you, as the OYPL, having an impact on Oakland?
I see myself having an impact by changing what a poet looks like.
I never thought of myself as a poet. I never thought that I could be one, or that people would call me one. But now I’ve accepted this beautiful fact that I'm a poet, that Kendrick, and Pac, and even LaRussell right now are all poets. People should view them as that and get out of a mindset that we don’t belong in this category.
So, I hope to change what a poet looks like and hopefully, just hopefully, a kid can look at me and say, “Hey, he looks like me!” and “I wanna be a poet when I grow up!” That’s the dream.
How has the OYPL program impacted the way you view your writing?
By making me view it (my writing) as not just for me.
I now see my writing as not just about me being vulnerable with the paper. I see it as not only an outlet for me to express my words, but as something that reaches the ears of people. Something that they actually agree or don’t agree with, which I love especially because I understand that my writing sparks conversation.
This is something I never would’ve imagined.
Why do you think it’s important for Oakland to have a Youth Poet Laureate?
Adults can inspire us, yes, but no one will reach us more than people who we could consider our brother or sister or cousin.
At the end of the day, we don’t believe adults all the time. Maybe that’s been from past experiences, or maybe we are just wired like that. But if we hear the truth from someone who is seeing the world from the same point of view, at the same time, and then producing this beautiful art, then we can actually relate to it and see ourselves as it.
What would you tell other teens who might be reluctant to share their writing or to apply for the program?
You write for you. To be a poet only takes being vulnerable with the paper.
But to use your gift of writing, of thinking in a creative mindset, is so much more precious. The feeling of people engaging with your writing is something so beautiful that I wish everyone could experience it. You should apply to the program because someone will engage with your writing, and I want you to experience that feeling. In fact, I, myself, want to be the person to engage with your writing.
AI is everywhere! Do you have any advice you can offer to help people find their own voice and not lean into technology too heavily in writing?
The easiest way to steer away from that use of technology is to listen to music while you write. I say this because you still have some connection to the computer and your tech, but in some way, you still get into the creative mindset. This is what works for me, at least.
I still use google docs for everything, but using A.I. just ruins the process. I always like to think of poetry as my truth, and I know if I were to use chatGPT or Gemini or whatever else it out there, it wouldn’t be my truth.
Is there anything else you’d like to share/talk about?
Thank you, thank you, Oakland. Thank you to the library. Thank you to my family. Thank you to this world, that, out of all the power of youth and all the strong minds in Oakland, you chose me to represent Oakland.
I can’t wait to see the future of this town that I love so much.
Learn more about the Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Program. The 2026 application is open until Feb. 1, 2026.
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