West Ashley Poet, Acadia Reynolds, Wins Statewide Prize
by Hailey M. Williams | Contributing Writer
Charleston County School of the Arts (SOA) sophomore Acadia Reynolds recently took the stage to read her poem, “For Jadzia Stern” during the 5th Annual MUSC Septima P. Clark Poetry Contest Awards Ceremony.
The West Ashley resident has been a finalist for this prize two years in a row, competing with young poets around the state to win second place in 2022 and first place in the high school category this year. In honor of Septima P. Clark, a renowned educator and civil rights activist, this year’s contest theme and prompt was “Unity in the Community: A World Connected.”
“I’m excited to have won for my poem honoring holocaust survivor Jadzia Stern, who spoke about the importance of building connections and empathy with a diverse community of people. Like Septima P. Clark, Jadzia Stern was a resilient, hopeful woman that people looked up to,” said Reynolds.
Charleston’s inaugural poet laureate Marcus Amaker introduced the awards ceremony, saying, “I always feel like it’s important to involve the voices of our younger poets.” He reflected on its titular figure Septima P. Clark. “She was one of the most powerful people to walk this Earth … She reminded folks that the power of their voice is really important.”
Clark was a Charleston native whose work developing literacy and citizenship workshops to promote equality in the Deep South earned her the title “Mother of the Movement” from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Despite her experience reading for an audience, Reynolds admitted that she was nervous. “I went up the stairs to read my poem, I tripped and almost fell on my face,” she said. Regardless of her nerves, Reynolds carried herself with grace during her reading, a recording of which can be found on MUSC’s website. In this excerpt, Reynolds ties together two disparate generations and experiences:
I heard you. I was connected by millions
of miles of fiber optic cables and nothing else, but nonetheless I followed in your footsteps
as you described your life. I was with you
as you laid with your face pressed to the floor on the boat ride to the United States …
On discovering Stern’s story through the video archives of the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust, Reynolds said, “Ms. Stern’s video stood out to me … she was a good storyteller. The way she described her experiences made them feel very immediate and intense.”
Though Reynolds wrote her first draft of the poem quickly, the editing process was more vigorous. “I think I only ended up keeping two lines from the original poem,” she said.
The poem continues to accrue recognition, also winning first place from the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust through their statewide annual student contest.
Now a sophomore creative writing major at SOA, Reynolds began writing poetry at age 10. “I like that it can be much freer in form and grammar than prose,” she said. Reynolds is an avid reader of magical realism, science fiction, and the occasional high fantasy novel. But her favorite genre to write is horror.
“I deal with overwhelming emotions by writing about them sometimes, and there’s something viscerally satisfying about making bad memories into cosmic horrors,” says Reynolds who advises other emerging creative writers in West Ashley to submit their work everywhere. “Even if you don’t think you’ll win or get recognized, there’s no harm in trying,” she says.
