The Merze Tate Explorers took part in their first Poetry Out Loud competition. The national competition is held at school, state, and national levels. After a socially-distant competition, Sierra Ward won first place in the Explorers’ first Poetry Out Loud event and went on to compete for the state title.

All participants received a gift card to their favorite restaurant and competed for the top prize of a HP Laptop computer, $100 second place, and $50 third place.

In addition to students learning up to three poems to recite by memory, they also learned about new poets and learned how to analyze how poets expressed their topics. While many of the students selected poems by African American poets, many of whom they had learned about for the first time, all poets in the Poetry Out Loud catalog were reviewed. Students in grades 5-12th selected or were assigned works that best matched their understanding and capability to perform. While the competition is for students in high school, all Explorers were assigned poems to recite. After judging from local volunteers (Denise Miller, Ahrea Norton, and Valetta Evans), the following students received top honors:

Honorable Mentions:

Mahalia Guidry – The Mothering Blackness by Maya Angelou

Alayna Kuhn – I look at the World by Langston Hughes

Aliah Ward – Brother, I’ve Seen Some by Kair

Top winners and their poems:

3rd place: Nya Kuhn – Genetics by Gwendolyn Brooks

2nd place: Kalea Barnes – Acquainted with the Night – Robert Frost

1st place: Sierra Ward – The Layers by Stanley Kunitz

Check out this video of all of our participants! Great job Explorers!