The winner of the annual Georgia Poet Laureate’s Prize, a poetry competition for high school students across the state, has been chosen.
Announced by Georgia’s Poet Laureate Chelsea Rathburn, the top spot for this year’s contest went to Jada Michelle Ellis, an 11th grader hailing from Woodland High School in Stockbridge (Henry County).
Ellis earned the esteemed award with her original poem, titled Fatherless Echoes.
This year’s competition saw over 260 students from 105 high schools throughout Georgia submit poems for the 2024–2025 school year.
In addition to Ellis, the other finalists included Liora Yustein from Decatur High School (Decatur, DeKalb County); Max Lee from Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County); Jaiden Geolingo from Howard High School (Macon, Bibb County) and Rachel Li from North Oconee High School (Watkinsville, Oconee County).
“Each spring, I have the difficult pleasure of reading entries submitted from students across the state – difficult only because it’s hard to choose a winner and finalists,” said Rathburn. “Discovering so many powerful and surprising poems, ranging in subject from history and family to the extinction of the dinosaurs, I’m certain that the future of poetry in Georgia is bright.”
Now in its twelfth year, the Poet Laureate’s Prize (organized in collaboration with the Georgia Council for the Arts) aims to encourage students to “engage in the art form of poetry,” as well as develop “creative communications skills and self-confidence” through their work.
“Fostering healthy, creative self-expression and engaging young people in the arts as a fundamental part of a well-rounded education is a key focus of our mission at Georgia Council for the Arts, and the Georgia Poet Laureate’s Prize has been a meaningful and exciting part of that work for over a decade,” said Tina Lilly, executive director of the Georgia Council for the Arts.
“We are consistently impressed by the imagination and talent shown by students across Georgia, and we’re thankful to the educators who supported and motivated them through this year’s contest.”
All of the finalist poems are currently featured on the Atlanta Magazine website.
Additionally, the finalists were also invited to a private poetry reading at the Georgia State Capitol, where they took a commemorative photo with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp.