PGSD Student Places First in Poetry Out Loud Competition

Pascagoula High School’s (Pascagoula-Gautier School District) Malisha Taylor won the 2024 Mississippi Poetry Out Loud Competition in March Taylor was awarded $200, and Pascagoula High School will receive a $500 stipend to purchase poetry materials�

“I am surprised but happy and grateful that my hard work led to something,” Taylor said, after the Mississippi Arts Council announced her as the Mississippi Poetry Out Loud State Champion

“Cold sweats went down my body I didn’t expect it, but I’m happy ”

In the first round, Taylor recited, “Mansplaining,” by Jennifer Militello, and in the second round, “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain,” by Emily Dickenson, and “Burning in the Rain,” by Richard Blanco was Taylor’s winning recitation

Taylor will now advance to the national finals in Washington, D C , April 30–May 2, where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed

“I don’t travel much I’ve only trav- eled outside of Mississippi twice,” Taylor said This will be her first time traveling to D C She said she is excited to represent the state of Mississippi on the national stage

Eight high school students from schools and organizations across the state participated in the Poetry Out Loud state finals, which took place at Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) in Jackson in March� MPB recorded the competition and will air it on MPB Television at 7:30 p�m� Friday, April 26, and at 4:30 p�m� Sunday, April 28

During the broadcast, viewers will hear directly from the students about their journey through the Poetry Out Loud program Tommy Nichol, a junior at Oxford High School (Oxford

School District), was the first runner-up, and Sanika Janorkar, a freshman at Rosa Scott High School (Madison County School District), was the second runner-up

The guest judges included:

• C Liegh McInnis, poet, short story writer and author

• Stacey Nycole Vincent Howell, theatre educator and former Mississippi Poetry Out Loud Regional Mentor

• Diane Williams, author, performing artist, storyteller, teaching artist, speaker, consultant and mixed-media fiber artist

• Danielle Littlefield, MFA, assistant professor of Creative Writing at Jackson State University

• Jason Thompson, principal at Mississippi-based marketing and communications firm Fahrenheit Creative Group, LLC

The event was presented in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country