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Teenage poets will have the opportunity to express themselves and get published at the seventh annual Valencia Teen Poetry Festival.

The Valencia Branch Library, 202 W. Valencia Road, will host the festival April 26. The event will serve as an open mic night for the teens, who don't have to preregister for the event, said young-adult librarian John L. Muñoz.

The event will be open to teens ages 13 to 18 and the poets will be able to submit their poems and have them published in a book. The book of poems will be distributed to all of the libraries in Pima County and added to each library's poetry collection, Muñoz said.

"Kids will be able to submit their poems and, five years down the road, come in and say, 'Wow. I wrote that,' " he said.

The festival will help fill a void in a neighborhood that does not have a lot of coffee shops or book stores, he said.

"Here on the South Side, there are not a lot of coffee shops and venues to read poetry," he said. "Without that scene, where would a teen go to read poetry?"

About 60 people, including families and friends, attended the event last year, but the festival has attracted up to 200 people in the past, he said.

"It's great because they bring a friend or two," he said. "Now you get to see them shine and it's very surprising."