MSMS student Wrishija Roy competed in the state-wide Poetry Out Loud competition in Jackson on March 10. Roy went up against eight other students from various parts of the state, with each student reciting two poems before the top three were chosen to recite another one. Roy herself did not place.

However, Roy originally was not going to compete at the state level, as she was unable to place in the top 3 at the regional competition. To her luck, another contestant dropped out, and she was able to compete at the state level. Roy said, “I was offered the opportunity to compete at State after a fellow contestant from Regionals dropped out, and I only had a few weeks to prepared.  This definitely made the idea of competing a lot more nerve-racking, especially because I chose two new poems.”

At the regional competition, Roy had recited the poems “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain” by Emily Dickinson and “Weighing In” by Rhina P. Espaillat. For the state competition, she replaced the Dickinson poem with “Dirge Without Music” by Edna St. Vincent Millay as well as preparing a third poem called “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus. Roy said that “I definitely practiced a lot more this time around. Joy [Carino] and I tried many different approaches to better understand the poems and how I could best convey the emotions that were associated with them.”

Speaking of her experience competing, Roy said “I’m very glad that I chose to participate. Even though I didn’t place, at the end of the day it was a great experience.

“I would love to compete next year, but I would also like to encourage my other classmates as well as the incoming juniors next year to try out Poetry Out Loud!” she added.