York Prep senior wins state poetry contest

A senor at York Preparatory Academy in Rock Hill recently won the South Carolina Poetry Out Loud contest and will be advancing to the national finals.

Joshua Mugabe, who was a state finalist last year, was named the winner after more than 4,000 students competed in regional competitions, then nine moved on to the state finals.

In the Poetry Out Loud competition, each contestant must recited two poems from memory. At the state competition, four students were named state finalists, then had to recite a third poem to pick the winner.

As the state champion, Mugabe received $200 and an all-expense paid trip to compete in the national finals. YPA’s library also got a $500 stipend to purchase poetry books.

Mugabe will compete at the national finals in Washington, D.C. at the end of April. The national champion receives a $20,000 scholarship.

This story was originally published March 20, 2015 at 10:18 AM with the headline "York Prep senior wins state poetry contest."