Dixie Phillips & Hafitha Ayyad
Contributor
In January, James Madison Preparatory High School (JMPHS) hosted class and school-level competitions for the “Poetry Out Loud” state-wide competition. Out of twelve students, Wendy Jacqueline Perez-Tavera scored the highest marks from the guest judges: Annette Johnson, Merv Mattair, and Devin Thompson. Perez-Tavera won the privilege to advance to the state level.
This competition's goal is to maintain poetry literacy in young students. Perez-Tavera went on to the state competition on March 11. The poems she recited were “The Tiger” by William Blake, “Do Not” by Stevie Smith, and “No Coward Soul is Mine” by Emily Bronte. She said she chose William Blake's poem because she “loves his work, especially The Book of Urizen.” She practiced for her competitions with her father and English teacher, Mary Brown, stating that they helped her overcome her stage fright and learn to stay calm when performing. The state competition was hosted by the University of South Florida in Tampa.
In addition, JMPHS student Dixie Phillips won an award for “Poetry Out Loud Gets Original” (POLGO). This national competition allowed students to submit their own original poems. Her poem “Searching” will be published in the POLGO 2023 Anthology and will be available for purchase online.