Camara Gaither, a University of Central Florida (UCF) alumna and mental health therapist, has been named Orlando’s poet laureate for 2025. Gaither earned her master’s degree in social work from UCF and works at Heart Bonds Counseling while pursuing licensure as a social worker.
“Poetry gives us permission to feel without judgment,” said Gaither. “And when we share those feelings out loud, we remember that we’re not alone.”
Gaither’s career combines her background in mental health with her passion for poetry. She leads workshops for veterans, trauma survivors, caregivers, and youth, using creative writing as a therapeutic tool. Her approach is rooted in the belief that words can transform pain into power.
“Poetry gives us a place to put pain,” Gaither said. “It’s an accessible way to approach emotions that feel too threatening to face directly.”
Before moving to Orlando seven years ago with her family, Gaither worked in the nonprofit sector but sought a path that blended advocacy, creativity, and care. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted her to return to school at UCF’s College of Health Professions and Sciences.
“I realized I couldn’t keep waiting for the perfect time to go back to school,” she said. “The world was changing — and so was I.”
At the Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center during her field placement, Gaither observed how creative expression could help veterans process trauma. She noted one veteran who described grief as “my neighbor,” which helped him articulate his experience.
“When we create a metaphor for something painful, we give ourselves a little space from it — enough to begin understanding,” she said.
Gaither trained in poetry therapy through the International Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy and now facilitates workshops focused on narrative reclamation.
“People who have been silenced in different ways often rediscover their agency through language,” she said. “Poetry becomes a form of resistance and restoration.”
Her dual expertise allows her to see poetry both as medicine and reflection. In therapy sessions and performances alike, she encourages exploring emotions through metaphor and rhythm.
“The holes in our lives — the losses, the wounds — they can be filled with good things,” she said. “That’s what poetry has done for me.”
Gaither began engaging with spoken word poetry as an undergraduate student in Tampa. The genre influenced her style by blending words with vocal cadence and physicality.
“It was the first time I saw poetry embodied,” she said. “The way performers used not only words, but also vocal cadence and physicality to tell a story — it all expanded what I believed poetry could be. I remember thinking, ‘I want to do that.’”
After graduation, she became active in Orlando’s poetry scene and performed at venues such as the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
In 2025, Gaither became Orlando’s third poet laureate—the third consecutive UCF graduate appointed since Susan Lilley (2017) and Shawn Welcome (2021). As poet laureate, Gaither plans youth workshops, civic event commissions, literacy initiatives across the city—including leading Words and Wonders poetry contest at Orlando International Airport—and efforts connecting communities through verse.
“Being poet laureate isn’t just about performing, it’s about service — showing people that poetry belongs to everyone.”
Despite increased recognition from this role, Gaither continues clinical work focusing on trauma recovery through creative expression.
“When someone writes, I’m angry, that’s a start,” she explained. “But when they write: my anger is a storm that doesn’t know where to land; suddenly we have something to hold and understand. That’s the power of poetry.”
For Gaither, each poem is an act of courage meant to foster connection—a principle shaped during her time at UCF.
