Elizabeth Silva
Baylor junior Elizabeth Silva won the state Poetry Out Loud competition in Franklin, Tn., becoming the first Baylor student to do so.
As the state champion, Ms. Silva will participate in the National Semifinals, with the top nine students advancing to the National Finals. Both competitions will take place May 5 -7 in Washington, D.C.
Ms. Silva qualified in the top four with her first two poems, “America, I Sing You Back" by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, and "Battle Hymn of the Republic" by Julia Ward Howe. Her winning poem was "Abcedarian Requiring Further Examination of Anglikan Seraphym Subjugation of a Wild Indian Rezervation" by Natalie Diaz. (Note: Some words in the poem's title are intentionally misspelled).
"I’ve always struggled with public speaking and getting a chance to really connect with poems and present them to people and perform them. It was a wonderful experience,” she said. “It’s incredible. I would have never expected to be in this position right now.”
Ms. Silva competed against 16 finalists from across Tennessee and had to memorize the three poems perfectly in order to win this competition. “Not only did she have to perfectly memorize them, but we also had to do some research and deep reads of the poems together to understand their meanings. This helped her embody and understand what the author was saying in order to deliver them,” explained Amelia Moore ’16, a Middle School Learning Center specialist who also accompanied Ms. Silva to the state competition.
Ms. Moore represented Baylor in the state competition when she was a junior and said the experience sparked her love for English and poetry. Each year, the junior English classes compete for the honor to represent Baylor at the state level.
Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and state arts agencies.
"Through Tennessee’s Poetry Out Loud, students cultivate not only powerful public speaking skills but also invaluable self-assurance and a profound connection to our rich literary traditions,” said Tennessee Arts Commission Chair, Steve Bailey. “Our heartfelt congratulations to every teacher and student who invested their passion and effort in this year’s program.”