Oregon Poetry Out Loud Competition Won By School For Deaf Student

BEAVERTON, OR — The competition didn't follow the usual pattern. Instead of students sharing a stage, this year's 11 finalists in the Oregon Poetry Out Loud gathered virtually on Friday.

One of them delivered three poems, "Silence" by Thomas Hood, "The Song of the Smoke" by W.E.B. du Bois, and "Caged Bird" by Maya Angelou.

The caged bird sings

with a fearful trill

of things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird

sings of freedom.

The student finished the classic Angelou poem.

Not long after, the judges in the contest reached out to the student and told him that he was the competition's 2022 winner.

What made the moment even more special for the winner, Trayshun Holmes-Gournaris, is that unlike other students who delivered their poems out loud, Holmes-Gournaris, delivered his poems in American Sign Language.

Holmes-Guarnaris is deaf, a senior at the Oregon School for the Deaf where he is student body president as well a member of the track and basketball teams. He also likes clowning, music, dancing, and animals.

This is Holmes-Guarnaris's second year in the competition. Not only id he win this year, he is the second student from the school to take the title.Tiffany Hill won in 2009.

"I am shocked and excited," he said after being told that he'd won. " have been trying for year to win.

"I really enjoy this field."

He said that he had started studying the Angelou poem in preparation for the competition, adding that it quickly became his favorite poem.

"Trayshun brought originality and a strong poise to each of his poems," Portland Creative Laureate Emeritus Subashini Ganesan, who served as a judge for the state contest, said.

"He stood out amongst his peers because he is a grounded competitor who allows his unique strengths to authentically permeate his presentations."

The competition coordinator for the Oregon Arts Commission, Briana Linden, said that Holmes-Guarnaris "sows us that poetry performance has no boundaries and also serves as a powerful reminder that those who are deaf and disabled are an integral part of our artistic communities."

Next up for Holmes-Guarnaris is the national semifinals, which are on May 1. If he wins there, he'll be in the finals on June 5.

If for some reason he can't make it, the second place winner, Maria Daniels, would represent Oregon.

Daniels is a sophomore at St. Stephens Academy in Beaverton.

The other nine students finalists were: Clara Bennett, Crater High School, Central Point; Cecily Cooper, Crook County High School, Prineville; Juwon Kim, Lakeridge High School, Lake Oswego; Alyssia Menezes, Lincoln High School, Portland; Elena Morris, Oregon Charter Academy, Mill City; Ava Neudeck, West Linn High School, West Linn; Mariah Reynolds, Redmond High School, Redmond; Auria Vallloton, Oakland High School, Oakland; and Willa Wise, Grant High School, Portland.