By Judith Roberts
Ruston Cultural District held its Poetry Out Loud competition recently, and two Lincoln Parish students will advance to Regionals.
Ruston Cultural District’s is part of a national Poetry Out Loud organization that is funded by the Endowment for the Arts and allows high school students to compete for scholarships. The Ruston Cultural District’s city competition is one of several in the parish, and those who win at the city level will an opportunity to compete at regionals, then, if successful, a state level competition, and, if successful there, nationals.
Elena Baines received first place in the competition with Grisham Locke taking second place, allowing them to advance to Regionals. Baines shared “Shall Earth No More Inspire Me” by Emily Bronte, and Locke shared Richard Blanco’s “Burning in the Rain.”
Third place honors went to Maddison Cunningham and Melissa Le. Isabelle St. Amant, William Cox and Gabe Garcia also participated in the event.
Tami Lockwood Alexander served as the student coach for the event, and the students memorized a poem to present during the competition.
“Thank you to Emma Alexander, Louisiana Tech biology Ssenior as our Accuracy Judge and thank you to our judges, Cherrie Sciro from Louisiana Tech University , Genaro Ky Ly Smith from Louisiana Tech University, and Jonathan Jackson from Grambling State University,” Alexander said. “Thank you to Amy Bolton Stegall and the Ruston Cultural District, along with Ruston Community Theatre for providing this opportunity for these students.”
Alexander said she wishes the best to Baines and Locke as they move on to Regionals.
“I am so proud of every contestant,” she said. “It was a beautiful evening of poetry sharing. We are very excited to send two contestants to Region Eight in 2024. This was a wonderful competition for Ruston Cultural District. We look forward to the next one.”
