Oleisia Johnson Wins the 2025 Most Promising Poet Award

Emerging Poet Recognized for Vulnerability, Creativity and Literary Promise 

Oleisia Johnson, C’2027, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Aliki Perroti and Seth Frank Most Promising Poet Award by the Academy of American Poets. Johnson has been recognized for her poem’s authenticity, vulnerability, and evocative tone, highlighting the Academy’s mission to uplift the voices of young poets.  

“The poem was born from a bittersweet place. I wrote it while reflecting on my own body image, self-perception, and the quiet observations many women make about themselves in relationships and in the mirror,” said Johnson, computer science major. “As someone whose mind is constantly moving, I felt it was time to confront the thoughts I carry silently.” 

The Aliki Perroti and Seth Frank Most Promising Young Poet Award, established in 2013, recognizes a student poet 23 years old or younger with a cash prize of $1,000 and publication on Poets.org. Current winners of the University & College Poetry Prizes were considered.  

“Poetry gives us language for moments we are still learning how to name,” said Robert Casper, president and executive director of the Academy of American Poets. “Oleisia Johnson’s ‘The Weight She Gives Me’ speaks with honesty, courage, and care, reminding us how poetry gives form to lived experience while opening space for empathy and connection.” 

Established in 1955, the University & College Poetry Prizes program began with ten schools. Since then, the Academy of American Poets has continued to recognize the exceptional work of emerging poets by awarding cash prizes to nearly 10,000 student poets at over 200 colleges and universities across the United States.  

“For readers, I hope the poem serves as a reminder that we are all trying our best. A life rooted in kindness and understanding, especially toward our own bodies, is a life worth living,” said Johnson.  “I have learned that when we acknowledge the burdens we carry, they begin to feel lighter. Ultimately, if my work helps even one person to feel less alone in their journey, then it has done its job. For me, this award is proof that you don’t have to choose just one thing. You can be infinitely many things in this life, and more!” 

To read Johnson’s poem, visit https://poets.org/poem/weight-she-gives-me