A Hodgson Vo-Tech High School senior is preparing for the Poetry Out Loud Nationals.
Maiss Hussein won Delaware’s State Final for a second straight year back in March - returning her to the Poetry Out Loud Nationals in Washington, DC April 30 through May 2.
She says she’s looking forward to the competition - and the camaraderie.
“Just being able to meet the other competitors. It’s nice, because, last year I remember, we were still connecting with each other even months after the competition. So I’m definitely excited to meet the other competitors to connect with them on forms of poetry and even beyond that.
Maiss says her path to poetry came through schoolwork, and she’s found a voice in the experience.
“For me specifically, it’s always been an outlet, it’s always let the words that maybe I couldn’t say in certain spaces shine above everything else. Poetry has definitely given me that outlet to express who I am and there’s never any limitations to poetry, because it’s always your story, and your story can never be censored.”
All 50 states are represented at nationals and $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed among finalists. But Maiss says she is also looking forward to the camaraderie she enjoyed a year ago at the competition.
Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program promoting the study of poetry. It’s a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the state arts agencies, including the Delaware Division of the Arts.
Delaware Public Media' s arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
