Massachusetts Poetry Out Loud Announce 2020 State Finalists

Twenty-two students from across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts advanced from this weekend's five regional semi-final contests of the 15th annual Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest to compete in the State Finals on Sunday, March 8 at the Old South Meeting House (310 Washington Street, Boston). The event begins at 9:30am and is free and open to the public. The Huntington Theatre Company's Education Department has facilitated the Massachusetts chapter of this national contest in partnership with the Mass Cultural Council since its inception 15 years ago.

The 2020 Poetry Out Loud Massachusetts Finalists are: (listed alphabetically by school)

1. Joseph Zhang, Senior, Algonquin Regional High School (Northborough, MA)
2. Jessie Carson, Freshman, Avon Middle High School (Avon, MA)
3. Luisa Toledo, Senior, CATS Academy Boston (Braintree, MA)
4. Samhita Modak, Senior, Franklin High School (Franklin, MA)
5. Jessie Wang, Senior, Groton Dunstable Regional High School (Groton, MA)
6. Andrew Shapiro, Junior, Innovation Academy Charter School (Tyngsborough, MA)
7. Aliénor Rice, Senior, International School of Boston (Cambridge, MA)
8. Elton Muchugi, Junior, Leominster High School (Leominster, MA)
9. Margaret Chiffer, Senior, Masconomet Regional High School (Boxford, MA)
10. Grace Pariser, Freshman, Meridian Academy (Jamaica Plain, MA)
11. Ruth Dathus, Junior, Methuen High School (Methuen, MA)
12. Eliza Keenan, Senior, Monument Mountain Regional High School (Great Barrington, MA)
13. Martina Taylor, Senior, Mystic Valley Regional Charter School (Malden, MA)
14. Izzy Lockhart, Senior, Needham High School (Needham, MA)
15. Rose Hansen, Junior, Norwell High School (Norwell, MA)
16. Olivia Free, Sophomore, Plymouth North High School (Plymouth, MA)
17. Elisabeth Carlin, Junior, Plymouth South High School (Plymouth, MA)
18. Kayla Turner, Senior, Sacred Hearth High School (Kingston, MA)
19. Michaela DeVos, Senior, Springfield Central High School (Springfield, MA)
20. Abigail Jones, Junior, Sturgis Charter Public School West (Hyannis, MA)
21. Sophia Taglieri, Senior, Westfield High School (Westfield, MA)
22. Anya Barrett, Senior, Worcester Technical High School (Worcester, MA)

23,293 students and 568 teachers in Boston, Cape Cod, Hopkinton, Newburyport, and Springfield on February 29, March 1, and March 2. The 22 finalists were the top-scoring contestants at their respective semi-final locations. The Massachusetts POL State Champion, to be named this Sunday, will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC in April to compete in the national finals.

The Huntington's Education Department facilitates the Massachusetts contest, one of the largest POL chapters in the nation, in partnership with the Mass Cultural Council. Poetry Out Loud Massachusetts has ranked nationally in participation statistics for the tenth year in a row, this year ranking second nationally in student participation (behind California) and third in teacher participation (behind California and Georgia.) The program is facilitated nationally by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.

Poetry Out Loud (POL) is a national recitation contest run by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation that celebrates the power of the spoken word and a mastery of public speaking skills while cultivating self-confidence and an appreciation of students' literary heritage as they take poetry from the page to the stage. Since its inception, POL has inspired more than 4 million high school students from 16,000 schools across the country to discover and appreciate both classic and contemporary poetry. The NEA and Poetry Foundation partner with state arts agencies in all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands to support POL. Poetry Out Loud is a free program for schools, and all state contests are free and open to the public.

Learn more about Poetry Out Loud Massachusetts at huntingtontheatre.org/pol.

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