On April 21, 2024 the non-profit organization known as Out Loud Huntsville celebrated 10 years
of activity in the Huntsville community. They held their 10 year event at the Orion Amphitheater.
The event featured a number of Out Loud veterans from the community. Their line up included
TC Cladwell, Sam Mitchell, Kimberly Casey, Joshua Baker, Chloe Philpot, and their big
headliner Ashley M Jones. The line up performed a number of different poems that covered a
range of topics and themes. The biggest ones being loss, grief, and moving on. It was a night
filled with extremely powerful poetry. Out Loud has been a long-standing staple of the
Huntsville community that allows a safe place for artists of all backgrounds and ages to have a
space to share their work. Their 10 year celebration was a true personification of what the group
stands by. All of the performers and artists come from a deep background of poetry and
storytelling, and it showed through the entire night.
Specifically, Alabama Poet Laureate Ashley M Jones gave a wonderful reading of some poems
that will be coming out in her new collection releasing this fall. The poems covered things from
handling the struggles of COVID, remembering one’s father and race, and the harrowing journey
of Black women in modern times. Jones performed each of these poems with a stoic and tranquil
power that left the room engaged as she performed but loud with applause upon the ending.
All the performers alike delivered some truly powerful pieces of art. Everyone at the event could
take something away from at least one of the performers. That is the true beauty of the Out Loud
community. It is a group that brings together strong talent that brings such power and beauty to
the world of poetry. Out Loud creates a space for artists of all ages to have a safe space to
promote their work