Berkeley Center for the Arts (BCA) creative writing students had a clean sweep in the 2023 Youth Poetry Slam in downtown Charleston earlier this week – and went home with some money in their pockets.
The high school poetry slam came on the tail end of the City of Charleston’s Free Verse Poetry Festival, held Oct. 18-22 in collaboration with the Charleston Gaillard Center. The festival was founded by Marcus Amaker, Charleston’s first Poet Laureate.
On the final day of the festival, high school students competed for cash prizes and a chance at publication through the poetry slam event. Junior Bri Miller scored first place and $450; senior Caleb Stillson took second place with a $250 prize and junior Ayra Glover claimed third with a $150 prize.
The students, accompanied by BCA creative writing teachers Jennifer Moorhead and Kimberly Westergaard, competed in the first round, with the top five moving onto the second round, and the top three moving onto the third round.
“The students at BCA have participated in Mr. Amaker’s Youth Poetry Slam in years past and they have always come away with such positive experiences that go well beyond the competitive aspect,” Moorhead said. “The encouragement and the positive feedback they receive from everyone involved are what makes the event so special. The students always depart feeling genuinely appreciated for their talents.”
All competitors received two poetry books and a CD from Amaker, who is also publishing all the contestants' poems in an anthology.
BCA is a Berkeley County School District’s secondary level fine arts magnet program. It is housed on the campus of Goose Creek High.
Other BCA creative writing students who competed include 12th graders Erik Herrera, Lizzie Sosa, Alyssa Ruth-Cole, and Jose Ochoa; 11th graders Jack Shirley, Kingston Horne, and Tori Knighton; 10th grader Alexandria Gandy; and ninth graders Conner Poss and Olivia Rutledge. Goose Creek High junior Le’Mar Smalls also competed.
In addition to creative writing, BCA offers six other fine arts disciplines in dance, strings, visual arts, voice/choral performance, theatre, and wind and percussion. For more information about BCA, contact officeofcommunications@bcsdschools.net or visit the school’s website at www.bcsdschools.net/o/gchs/page/bca.