Jayda Dawn, then an 11th grader at University High School of Indiana in Carmel, was named the 2026 Poetry Out Loud National Champion in April and won a $20,000 grand prize.
asserted
Dawn → name → prize
She recited poems by Langston Hughes, Alice Duer Miller, and Albery Allson Whitman.
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She → recite → Hughes
Months after the national finals, Dawn spoke with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) about her experience and what the competition meant to her.
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competition → speak → her
She described the journey as “exhilarating, shocking, and belonging” and reflected on the friendships she made with fellow young poets and how poetry has remained an important part of her life.
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poetry → describe → life
Indiana high school student's first Poetry Out Loud journey reaches the national stage
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journey → reach → stage
This was Dawn’s first year competing in Poetry Out Loud, and she had only recently heard about the programme.
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she → compete → programme
She learned about the opportunity through University High School of Indiana, where head of school Alicia LaMagdeleine was reintroducing Poetry Out Loud.
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LaMagdeleine → learn → Loud
Dawn was immediately interested because opportunities to take part in something so specific within poetry are uncommon.
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opportunities → take → poetry
Her journey eventually took her to the national finals, where she recited poems by Langston Hughes, Alice Duer Miller, and Albery Allson Whitman.
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she → take → Hughes
She was then named the 2026 Poetry Out Loud National Champion and received a $20,000 grand prize.
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She → name → prize
PC: James Kegley/ National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
Connecting with young poets from across the country
For Dawn, Poetry Out Loud became about more than reaching the national finals.
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Loud → connect → finals
She described the experience in three words: “exhilarating, shocking, and belonging”.
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She → describe → words
Before reaching Nationals, she did not know what to expect or who she would meet.
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she → reach → who
That changed at the first-night meet and greet, where she found herself surrounded by young artists who shared her interest in poetry.
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who → change → poetry
Dawn said she did not feel like she stood out.
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she → say → ?
Instead, she felt she had found a place among people who understood her passion for poetry.
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who → feel → poetry
Meeting state and jurisdictional champions from across the country also gave her the chance to form new friendships.
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Meeting → meet → friendships
Why has poetry remained important to Jayda Dawn
Poetry was already a part of Dawn’s life long before she entered Poetry Out Loud.
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she → remain → Poetry
Dawn grew up hearing her father's poetry, so poetry was a familiar part of Dawn’s childhood.
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poetry → grow → childhood
She described it as a sacred form of art and said winning the competition after growing up around her father’s poetry felt like a special full-circle moment.
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winning → describe → moment
The competition also deepened her own relationship with poetry as she spent time memorising and living with the poems she selected.
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she → deepen → poems
Dawn said, “Being able to live with these words is such a wonderful opportunity that not everyone is fortunate enough to have”.
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everyone → say → words
She believes poetry will remain part of her life forever.
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poetry → believe → life
To her, poetry is everywhere, including in music and rap, and wherever she goes, it will follow her.
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it → include → her
What did Jayda Dawn learn from Poetry Out Loud
Dawn’s advice for students considering Poetry Out Loud is not to enter only with the goal of winning.
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advice → learn → goal
She said the experience can still be meaningful even for students who do not advance beyond the school or state level.
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who → say → level
She said students can have many great experiences along the way.
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students → say → way
Dawn also encouraged students to recognise the value of spending time with poetry and living with the words they choose.
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they → encourage → words
The programme also created opportunities beyond the competition.
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programme → create → competition
She said the fellow champions she met became lifelong friends and that she remains grateful for the opportunities that came after Poetry Out Loud.
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that → say → Loud
The Aporia
