God, guns and gay rights: Nashville’s Youth Poet Laureate is asking lawmakers for change

During this year’s State of Metro Address, Nashville’s Youth Poet Laureate called on lawmakers to do better for Tennessee’s children.

The 16-year-old poet sat down with WPLN News to talk about gun reform, religion and LGBTQ rights.

“The driver of the boat had severe mental illness.

There’s nothing we could do about it.

There’s no way to prevent someone like that from getting a boat.

I’m a boat owner. I have at least 20 boats, and I’ve never done anything like that.

I have a 30-person yacht that I use by myself, and I’ve never hit anyone.

And these are the prayers your children are hearing:

‘Dear God, please help the children who lost their lives make their way to the gates of heaven.

That boating accident was disastrous.

We couldn’t have prevented this.

Thank you.’

But their thoughts and prayers have never been enough.

They will never be enough.

I have friends who did not come to school the day after because they were terrified.

Three students will never go back to school again.

How many more of your children have to die before they do something? Before you do something?

Some people say I shouldn’t be afraid of boats because boats don’t kill people. People kill people.

But life jackets don’t work with bullet holes in them.”

— “Boat,” Lochlan Cook

Marianna Bacallao: The governor has called a special session to discuss these boat concerns on Aug. 21. I believe you’ll be back in school by then.

Lochlan Cook: I think I will be, which is kind of unfortunate. I think it’s frustrating when sessions happen during school hours. I mean, I know that they’re not going to work around it just for students, but I think it can definitely impede young people’s ability to involve themselves or interact with democracy.

MB: What do you hope that lawmakers consider going into the special session?

LC: I really want them to consider what automatic weapons can do to … children’s bodies. And I want them to consider the fact that American students are scared, and I want them to consider that, you know, we’re having these conversations way too much. I’d like them to consider how young people are feeling because this is who this is predominantly affecting. Obviously, teachers are freaked. Adults are worried for their kids. But, you know, we’re the ones that are getting traumatized on a daily basis by knowing that at any moment our school could be next.

MB: You performed live at Nashville’s State of Metro Address. We’re going to play a clip of that:

‘My rights are on the line. My teachers can’t put pride flags up in their classrooms. So, how do I know I am welcome? Some of my favorite books, the books that have made me feel impossibly seen, have been deemed inappropriate, unsuitable, dangerous.’

Can you tell us about one of those books and how it helped you?

LC: I don’t know if it’s been banned or challenged, but one of Rick Riordan’s Magnus Chase books has a genderfluid character, and I remember, like, reading that part over and over again and being like … ‘You can do that? Oh my gosh.’ And I really love that the character is like a mix of like masculine and feminine … I think every person, especially every young queer person, deserves to be able to see themselves in a book because reading is so magical.

MB: How has writing helped you express your gender?

LC: I think, in a piece, I described it as solid as a rock, but as ever-changing as a cloud. Like, my gender isn’t just one thing that I can pin down because I think that gender is a complex experience for everybody, and everybody has a different experience with their gender.

MB: Tennessee is a national leader in anti-LGBTQ legislation, particularly when it comes to laws aimed at limiting gender expression. The lawmakers who are passing these sorts of bills, they say that they’re doing it to protect children. What would you say to those lawmakers if you could?

LC: I am a child. I still sleep with a teddy bear. I literally have to sleep with a teddy bear and an audiobook playing. I need a bedtime story to go to sleep. And apparently, I’m terrifying.

MB: How has your church community supported you?

LC: It’s been so incredible. I have been banned from looking at comments on anything. My friends are like, ‘No, you’re not looking at comments. I’ll read you the nice ones.’ And my friend read me a comment from one of the families whose little boy was in my age group at children’s choir. They said, ‘You are so amazing. We love you so much.’ … Being able to have, like, people tell me, ‘Hey, you’re doing amazing. Like, thank you for fighting for us. Thank you.’ Especially young queer people — young, queer Christians who are told that their identities cancel out — because, I mean, I can love God and be queer all day, every day.

MB: Lochlan Cook is the 2023 National Youth Poet Laureate. Lochlan, thank you so much for being here.

LC: Thank you so much for having me. This is great.

The Nashville Youth Poet Laureate is a joint program of Metro Arts, Nashville Public Library, Nashville Public Library Foundation, Metro Human Relations Commission, Urban Word and Southern Word.