City of Asylum Youth Poet Laureate of Allegheny County
2022-2023
Rho Bloom-Wang is a 16-year-old student, writer, and activist. As an editor for Starry False Lily and Plaid Magazine, they believe literary art is essential for both individual growth and interpersonal change. Devoted to issues of social and environmental justice, Rho has collaborated on projects that address issues of air quality, criminal justice, and gender-based inequities in athletics. They recently co-organized a national event highlighting transgender art, writing, and existence as a form of resistance to anti-trans legislation. Rho is a winner of the Oakland Sidewalk Poetry Contest and the recipient of a Gold Medal from the Alliance for Art and Writing. You can find their work in The Lumiere Review, Qommunity’s Revive, Saturday Light Brigade, and elsewhere. You may also find them immersed in mountains, books, and Mandarin.
Read Rho’s poem “When I Grow Up“
