Seven expressive young women put their love of poetic prose on display last Wednesday, Jan. 29 at East Providence High School during the school’s annual ‘Poetry Out Loud’ competition.

A national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country, Poetry Out Loud helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life.

Each student was tasked with choosing and studying two poems, and were then asked to recite them by memory on stage in the school auditorium before a panel of judges, who graded the students based on the accuracy of their dictation and the effectiveness of the emotions portrayed.

Participants included Nazarae Phillip, Davonna Rhodes, Sade Williams, Camille Cabral Bennet, Elska Alario, and Aurora Hofstetter. Aspen Washington introduced each of her classmates. Phoenix Perkins was slated to perform but could not ultimately attend the event.

Students’ selected poems spanned a wide range of subject matter, from wistful reflections on love and life, to politically-themed pieces that reflected the uncertainties of today’s world, and poems that drew from the rich cultural heritage of the authors. Perhaps the most special part of the evening, however, was when each student got the chance to recite self-written works at the end, giving them an opportunity to showcase their own growing talents for writing from the soul, and drawing on their own experiences.

Aspen Washington deserves special mention for her recitation of a self-written work called “From Then to Now: A Young Girl’s Rise”, an affecting walk through various important moments in her life where she was forced to reconcile with the outer world’s judgments and reactions to her race and gender, and finding the strength to rise above and celebrate herself. The talented Townie, who fought through her own emotions throughout the reading, will be reciting the piece as part of the City of East Providence’s Black History Month celebration later this month.

Sophomore Elska Alario also brought her fellow students near tears with a self-written work titled “To the Beautiful Children of Palestine”. The poem effectively walked a tight rope of emotions, expressing a cheery description of children going through unimaginable terror in their home land, while not turning away from the reality of their plight, nor her raw and unfiltered anger at those children being forced to face it.

In the end, it was Alario who won the competition. She delivered near perfect recitations of “Meeting at an Airport”, by Palestinian poet Taha Muhammad Ali, and “A Song: Lying is an Occupation”, by Laetitia Pilkington. Camille Cabral Bennet took home second place.

As the school’s winner, Alario will no go onto the state finals, where that winner will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip with an adult chaperone to Washington, D.C. to compete for the national championship. The state winner’s school receives $500 for the purchase of poetry materials. The first runner-up in each state receives $100, with $200 for their school. At the national finals, a total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends is awarded annually.

Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the state and jurisdictional arts agencies.