Honolulu Theatre for Youth and the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts Announce 2023 Poetry Out Loud State Finals

Honolulu Theatre for Youth (HTY) and the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts announce the state finals for Poetry Out Loud®. Presented in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students. Students master public speaking skills and buildself-confidence, while also learning more about both classic and contemporary poetry.

"Students who participate in Poetry Out Loud often find an unexpected connection to and appreciation for poetry while also gaining confidence in their own abilities to communicate," said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. "We are grateful for the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and Honolulu Theatre for Youth for making this opportunity available to students throughout Hawaiʻi."

On Sunday, February 26, 2023, 12 high school students from 12 schools/organizations representing five (5) islands will participate in the Poetry Out Loud state finals at Tenney Theatre at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Honolulu.

The event will be held in-person for the first time since 2020 and features an appearance by Brandy Nālani McDougall, the current Hawaiʻi State Poet Laureate. This free event is open to the public. Audience seating will open at 10:45 AM and the competition will begin at 11 AM.

The winner of this competition will advance to the national finals iwhich are planned to take place in Washington, DC, May 8-10, 2023, where a total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be presented, including a $20,000 award for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion. Since the program began in 2005, more than 4.1 million students across the country have participated in Poetry Out Loud. Hawai'i began participating in 2006 and over the years, more than 50 different public, charter, private schools and homeschool networks have participated representing Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, and Hawaii Island.

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