Wilmington, Del. (February 8, 2023) – Following a three year hiatus, Delaware’s Poetry Out Loud State Finals returns for the first in-person competition since 2020. The recitation contest will be hosted at the Smyrna Opera House on Thursday, March 2, 2023, at 7:00pm. Twelve student finalists will compete for the opportunity to represent Delaware and advance to the National Finals in Washington, DC from May 8-10, 2023, where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed. The event is FREE to the public and seating is limited.

At their school, students selected and recited works from an anthology of more than 1,200 poems. Their teachers or facilitators ran their school’s local Poetry Out Loud competition that then selected a winner to be moved on to the state finals.

“Congratulations to the twelve talented and creative high school students who have been selected as semi-finalists in the 2023 Delaware Poetry Out Loud competition,” says Division Director Jessica Ball. “Your hard work and passion for the arts is truly inspiring. The arts play a critical role in creating well-rounded individuals, fostering imagination, creativity and critical thinking skills that are essential to success in all aspects of life. Keep up the great work and we can’t wait to see where your passion for the arts takes you in the future.”

The 2023 Delaware State semi-finalists are:

Bekah Booth, Delaware Valley Classical School
Maiss Hussein, Hodgson Vo-Tech High School
Emily Roth, MOT High School
Aiden Morris, Mount Sophia Academy
Lale Ergen, Newark Charter High School
Julia Nowaczyk, Padua Academy
Hunter Brown, Red Lion Christian Academy
Abigail Ehemann, Saint Mark’s High School
Kaylee Rathbone, Sanford School
Joelle Caternor, Smyrna High School
Morgan Burnett, Sussex Central High School
Ololade Olubowale, Tatnall School

Poetry Out Loud—presented in partnership with the Delaware Division of the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and Poetry Foundation—is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. Since the program began in 2005, more than 4.1 million students across the country have participated in Poetry Out Loud.

The National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation have created free, standards-based curriculum materials to support Poetry Out Loud including a teacher’s guide, lesson plans, an online anthology, posters, and video and audio on the art of recitation. These resources are available for free at PoetryOutLoud.org.

The Delaware state champion will receive $200 and will advance to the national finals next spring where $50,000 in awards and school/organizational stipends will be distributed. The representing school or organization of the state champion will receive $500 for the purchase of poetry materials. The first runner-up in each state will receive $100, with $200 for their school or organization. The Poetry Foundation provides and administers all aspects of the monetary prizes awarded and travel arrangements for the Poetry Out Loud National Finals.