Hawai'i State Foundation On Culture And The Arts and HTY Announce 2021 Hawai'i Poetry Out Loud Champion

Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and state coordinator, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, have announced that Taylor Cozloff is the 2021 Hawai'i Poetry Out Loud champion.

Ms. Cozloff represented Kamehameha Schools Kapalama in Honolulu and won over a competitive field of eight students representing high schools on Kaua'i and O'ahu. Due to the pandemic, the Hawai'i finals were held as a video submission contest in early March. The first runner-up was Erisan Awaya, a senior from Mid-Pacific Institute and last year's winner. The third place winner was Isabel Cheever, a sophomore from Punahou School.

"Poetry has been one of my best friends for so much of my life," shared Taylor Cozloff after winning. "Whether it is reading it, writing it, or reciting it, poetry has been a way for me to make sense of the world. I am so grateful for Poetry Out Loud because it has allowed me to grow closer to poetry and understand it better." Taylor is a high school senior and participated in Poetry Out Loud for the last three years. She ranked 2nd in the state competition both years before winning the 2021 title.

Guest judges for the Hawaii contest were Mark Branner, Terence Liu, Robbie Dingeman, and Maya Soetoro-Ng. Judges evaluated student performances on criteria including physical presence, voice and articulation, accuracy, and evidence of understanding.

Taylor will compete in the Poetry Out Loud national finals which will be held virtually in May 2021. Students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa will provide video submissions for this semi-finals competition which will be broadcast on Sunday, May 2, 2021 at arts.gov. The top nine students will move on to the finals competition which will be broadcast on Thursday, May 27, 2021 at arts.gov. The Poetry Out Loud national finals will present a total of $50,000 in awards and school/organization stipends, including a $20,000 award for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion. The Poetry Foundation provides and administers all aspects of the monetary prizes awarded.

Poetry Out Loud starts in the classroom/school or at the local level with an area organization. Winners advance to a regional and/or state competition, and ultimately to the national finals. The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation provide free, standards-based curriculum materials all available online which teachers may choose to use in their classrooms. Schools are welcome to download these resources at poetryoutloud.org. Since the program began in 2005, more than 4 million students and 65,000 teachers from 16,000 schools across the country have participated in Poetry Out Loud.