Patrick Washington - Director Of Poetry

Patrick was forged in Washington DC’s vibrant arts community of the mid-90’s, finding his voice on DC’s famed U Street corridor alongside luminaries like Toni Blackman, Ta-Nehisi Coates & Jason Reynolds. Nationally, as part of the dynamic hip-hop poetry ensemble POEM-CEES, he spent the early 2000's a regular performer on HBO’s legendary Def Poetry TV series and was seen on the NFL Network. In 2009 he was asked by Tavis Smiley to serve as narrator for the centerpiece of his national African American museum exhibit, “America I Am”. His biggest honor by far was being commissioned to create a poem dedicated to the monument to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King which he performed at the unveiling on the national mall on October 16th 2011. A teaching artist at heart, Patrick has not only been WBL fam since it's beginnings, but in 2016 he founded the arts education company, Dialect of Prince George's County and with it, created the county’s Youth Poet Laureate program, giving young people the opportunity to collaborate with city officials & serve as poetic ambassadors for their community.