2022 POL State Finalists

From Michelle Sipes, Arts Learning Specialist –

The 2022 Tennessee Poetry Out Loud (POL) Contest will be held in person at the Tennessee State Museum on Saturday, March 5, 2022. The contest begins at 10:00 a.m. CST and is free and open to the public.

We acknowledge the incredible work and talent of each State Finalist. This year, fifteen (15) students from across Tennessee memorized, practiced, and polished their recitations in advance of the competition. Alongside their teachers, families, and friends, the Commission so looks forward to celebrating their efforts here in Nashville!

This year’s brilliant State Finalists include: 

Charlotte Bollschweiler is a sophomore at Clayton-Bradley Academy in Maryville. She has been involved in the arts all of her life, and they have become a very important part of her identity. She has been performing with the Appalachian Ballet Company for five years, filling roles like Tinkerbell in Peter Pan and Clara in The Nutcracker. She also enjoys artistic expression through visual art and makeup. Chances are, if you see Charlotte in the street, she will have pen doodles all over her arms.

Madison Clanton is a junior at Cumberland County High School in Crossville, where she enjoys reading and writing. She is an actor and playwright in the Jet Theatrix Theatre II Spring production, and she loves to create things for others to enjoy. She is excited to meet, compete with, and support all the Poetry Out Loud competitors this year!

Amaya Ferrer, age 15, is a sophomore at Haywood High School and resides near Blue Oval City. She is the youngest of 5 sisters. Her cherished hobbies include anything expressive such as drawing, journaling, and poetry, of course! Her favorite color is purple and she loves art class, but she shares that math is a close second. She can be found any day loving on her little wiener dog, Sadie!

Eve Kathleen Finley is a 15-year-old freshman at Saint Cecilia Academy in Nashville. While Eve has participated in school forensics for several years, this is her first experience with Poetry Out Loud. Eve is an excellent student at school who pursues the arts in theater and dance company and socializes with friends and classmates in the Culture of Belonging and Black History Month clubs. Eve enjoys reading poetry, playing piano, and relaxing with her dog, Thor in her free time.

Briana Fowlkes is the daughter of Delia and Brian Fowlkes. She is a sophomore at Mount Pleasant High School in Mount Pleasant where she competes in Colorguard for MPHS. Briana loves music and plays piano, guitar, and violin. She enjoys musical theatre, watching movies, and reading in her free time.

Afton Greer is a senior at McEwen High School in McEwen. Afton has always taken the mindset “to always try to do a bit of everything–a little of this, and a little of that!” She participates in everything from Future Farmers of America to Theater to Animating! As of right now, she intends to go into Biology.

Kendall Grimes is a senior at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin who has been involved with Poetry Out Loud since her freshman year and is excited to be back one last time! Kendall is an outstanding student, athlete, and musician who will be headed to Yale in the fall.

Molly Hicks is a senior at Rockvale High School in Murfreesboro who loves the arts and sports. Molly is an active member of her school community. She participates in Track and Field, Cross Country, Advanced Choir, Advanced Theatre, and has performed in various community and school productions. Poetry Out Loud is exciting to Molly because it offers a creative platform for her to explore the world of poetry and share her love of the spoken word with other students who love it, too.

Originally from Chicago, IL, Peyton Jones is a junior at Hardin Valley Academy in Knoxville. She spends a lot of time working at a Veterinary Clinic and focusing on clubs. Outside of that, she usually spends time at the animal shelter, hanging out with friends, and reading YA novels. She’s always loved literature, poems included, so being a part of this competition is something she’s grateful for!

Winona Mackay, or Noni, is a cosplayer and a sophomore at Clarksville High School. They like styling wigs and making props, but sewing costumes? Unheard of. They’ve yet to win a costume contest, but that could change quickly… if they actually got creative. This is their second year competing in Poetry Out Loud!

Nuria Martin is a freshman at Arlington High School in Arlington. As a lover of the fine arts, she has been on the Speech and Debate Team for four years and is currently Co-President. Previously Nuria has participated in two school-produced theatre shows. As an aspiring leader, she spends her time in the community serving on the Shelby County Youth Council and Youth Action Facilitation Team. Nuria is so excited to have the opportunity to bring poetry to life!

Mary Katherine McDowell is a freshman at Franklin Road Academy in Nashville and an active Robotics member. Her robotics team competed at the Tennessee state competition this year! She enjoys playing video games and learning art history in her free time. Her main characters in Super Smash Bros. are Kirby and Bowser.

Aniyah Mckissic is a 17-year-old senior at Nashville School of the Arts. She is in the Choral Conservatory and enjoys singing, dancing, cheering, playing piano, sewing, and writing. Also, she really loves to talk and is a great conversationalist. Aniyah is adventurous and involved in many different activities that help her meet new people with similar interests.

Carissa Thompson, a senior at Harding Academy of Memphis, is busy in many school activities such as softball, volleyball, and theatre productions. She also works with her school’s yearbook team as the lead copy editor. She has signed to play volleyball at Freed Hardeman University for her next adventure, where she intends to major in Psychology.

Luke Wanca is a senior at Farragut High School in Knoxville who loves to read, write, play the drums, and volunteer at his local church. He plans to attend Liberty University in the fall and looks forward to spending time in the Virginia mountains. He would also like to tell his brother that he says “hi” from Nashville!

Additionally, this year’s competition could not have been possible without the efforts of our judges. The 2022 judges are:

Lee Baird joined the Tennessee Arts Commission staff in June 2005. He administers the Literary Arts Program for the Commission, which includes managing grants for literary organizations and individual writers and coordinating special literary projects. In addition, as Grants Analyst, he supervises the agency’s sub-recipient grant monitoring and serves as a liaison to grantees to ensure compliance with all contract requirements.

Carin “Writeous Soul” Malone is a 13-time poetry slam champion and ranks as the #32nd lady poet in the world after competing in the 2021 Women of the World Poetry Slam. She has resided on the National Civil Rights Museum’s “Drop the Mic Poetry Slam” committee since winning their 2017 competition. As the founder of the Traveling Poets organization, her focus is on positively tackling trauma and life through poetry workshops, open mics, poetry slams, and community engagement.

René Millán is a professional actor, director, acting teacher, writer, and theatrical devisor. He received an MFA in acting from the University of Washington School of Drama in Seattle. He has been a guest teacher of acting and Suzuki-inspired movement at the Yale School of Drama (Beinecke Fellow), Syracuse University, Seattle University, Vanderbilt University, Southern Oregon University, and the University of Redlands. He is also a teaching artist for Nashville Shakespeare Festival and Nashville Children’s Theatre and Actors Bridge Ensemble.

As an actor, René has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, film, television and regional theatres around the country. He is a 2022 playwrighting fellow for the Tennessee Playwrights Studio where he will be devising a new piece. He also has a new performance piece and film in development based on the artist Martín Ramírez. René teaches and coaches acting through Millán Acting Studio.

Erin Elizabeth Smith is the Executive Director for Sundress Publications and the Sundress Academy for the Arts. She is the author of three full-length collections of poetry, most recently DOWN (SFASU 2020), and her work has appeared in Guernica, Ecotone, Crab Orchard, and Mid-American, among others. Smith is a Distinguished Lecturer in the English Department at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

The State Finals is emceed by Poet Laureate of Knoxville, author, and educator, Rhea Carmon, and includes dynamic performances by Nashville musician, Reed Turchi; ASL Interpretation by Kiley Scott of Sign A Song, and Deaf and Hard of Hearing talent Shanté Perry and Dara Witherspoon; the State Finalist Poetry Recitation Showcase; and will conclude with the Awards Ceremony, the presentation of one-of-a-kind trophies by Will Harper of Make Nashville and the announcement of this year’s TN State Champion.

Please join us in cheering for the TN POL Champion at the National Finals event, which is slated to take place virtually. The event will be streamed via arts.gov. The student named TN champion will compete in the national finals, where a total of $50,000 in awards and school/organization stipends, including a $20,000 award for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion, will be presented.

Dates for the National semifinals and finals are:

• May 1, 2022 – Virtual Poetry Out Loud National Semifinals
• June 5, 2022 – Virtual Poetry Out Loud National Finals

Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the Tennessee Arts Commission.