Chimwemwe Undi (Ebunolowa Akinbo)

Poet, performer, and editor Chimwemwe Undi has been named the next poet laureate of Winnipeg.

Undi will take over from current poet laureate Duncan Mercredi and serve as the city’s poet laureate for 2023 and 2024, the Winnipeg Arts Council announced in late November.

“Winnipeg’s arts community has welcomed, encouraged, and inspired me since I began writing and performing poetry as a teenager,” Undi said in a statement. “In this position, I hope to amplify and advocate for that community, and to encourage more people to read and write themselves into those spaces.”

Undi’s work has been published in publications including Prairie Fire, CV2 Magazine, Border Crossings, and The Walrus. She is the co-founder of Voices, Ink. Youth Poetry Slam and has been named one of CBC Manitoba’s Future 40.

The Winnipeg poet laureate is tasked with creating work that reflects the city and its people and commemorates official functions.