(WASHINGTON, DC) Recently, Italy Ja rae Whitehead, an 11th grade student at Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy in Elizabeth, NJ, was named the 2022 New Jersey Poetry Out Loud champion. Whitehead is now advancing to the Poetry Out Loud National Semifinals, which will be broadcast on Sunday, May 1, 2022, on arts.gov. Whitehead will compete in the 1st semifinal, beginning at 12:00pm ET / 11:00am CT / 9:00am PT.