Poetic Voices was founded by Jack Li, a student at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. Jack enjoys writing and serves as Ambassador for the Harvard-Westlake Poetry Festival and Associate Literary Editor for stone-cutters, the school’s literary magazine. Jack is also a LA Youth Poet Ambassador and a Davidson Young Scholars Ambassador.
Jack’s passion for poetry was ignited when he read the testimonials of Holocaust survivors in middle school. He realized that he could offer poignant responses to these testimonials through poetry, and pay tribute to the experiences of individuals who lived through this difficult historical moment. He continued to explore how poets engage with war and global crises, humanity’s responsibility to support survivors of trauma, and, most importantly, the healing power of literary expression.
To advocate for the enriching and therapeutic potential of poetry, in the summer of 2014, Jack founded Poetic Voices, a nonprofit community service organization dedicated to sharing the art of poetry with senior citizens in rehabilitation and assisted living centers.