Meet Jayda Dawn, the Indiana 11th-grader who became America's national poetry champion in her first year and won $20,000
- PC: James Kegley/ National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)Jayda Dawn, then an 11th grader at University High School of Indiana in Carmel, was named the 2026 Poetry Out Loud National Champion in April and won a $20,000 grand prize.
- She recited poems by Langston Hughes, Alice Duer Miller, and Albery Allson Whitman.
- Months after the national finals, Dawn spoke with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) about her experience and what the competition meant to her.
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- PC: James Kegley/ National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)Jayda Dawn, then an 11th grader at University High School of Indiana in Carmel, was named the 2026 Poetry Out Loud National Champion in April and won a $20,000 grand prize.
- She recited poems by Langston Hughes, Alice Duer Miller, and Albery Allson Whitman.
- Months after the national finals, Dawn spoke with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) about her experience and what the competition meant to her.
Sources: Times of India