Providence High School Student Wins State Poetry Contest

PROVIDENCE, RI — A senior at Classical High School in Providence won the 2022 Poetry Out Loud state championship.

On March 6 at the Greenwich Odeumm, Mariama Bandabaila joined nine other students in grades 9-12 for three rounds of poetry recitation in front of a private audience of family and teachers.

Bandabaila's victory will bring her to the regional competition on May 1 and the national one on June 5, where she'll represent Rhode Island.

"On behalf of Providence Public Schools, I want to say congratulations to Classical High School's Mariama Bandabaila for winning the 2022 Poetry Out Loud Rhode Island Competition," said acting Providence Superintendent Javier Montañez. "And just as importantly, I want to say thank you for sharing your voice. Finding ways to express ourselves and process our emotions is more important than ever, and poetry can be a powerful outlet – especially when our students can read something written by one of their peers."