Freshwoman Places Top 5 at Poetry Out Loud State Finals

March 29, 2019

In early March, BeJay Mugo ’22 competed at the state-level competition for Poetry Out Loud in Connecticut. She quickly wowed the judges and crowd, ending the day as a top-five finalist.

BeJay performed Gerard Manley Hopkin’s “As Kingfishers Catch Fire,” an incredibly difficult poem, Lani O’Hanlon’s decidedly more contemporary (and funny) “Back Up Quick They’re Hippies,” and Dennis O’Driscoll’s ranging “Tomorrow.” Her performance had people gasping and chuckling, and fully immersed in the experience of the poems.

This is the second year in a row that Walker’s has had a finalist at the state-level poetry competition.