Vermont Students Compete In Statewide Poetry Out Loud Events

Students from 22 Vermont high schools, representing 10 counties, travel to the Barre Opera House on Thursday, March 9 to recite poems on stage in the Vermont Poetry Out Loud 2023 Semifinals. They vie for the state championship in this prestigious poetry recitation competition, administered by the Flynn in partnership with the Vermont Arts Council under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. The finals are held on the Flynn Main Stage on Thursday, March 16. The state winner advances to the national finals in April.
Both the state semifinals and state finals can be streamed live on the Flynn website. Find out more about Vermont Poetry Out Loud at flynnvt.org/education/poetry-out-loud.

"The Flynn is committed to expanding access to the arts in Vermont, and this program allows us to bring artists to schools across the state," said Jay Wahl, Flynn executive director. "Students participating in Poetry Out Loud build academic and language skills, but also develop self-confidence and empathy for new perspectives, making connections about how poets shape our imagination and our understanding of the world. We're proud to partner on this program with the Vermont Arts Council."

Poetry Out Loud is supported by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Poetry Out Loud program was created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Now in its fifteenth year, Poetry Out Loud has inspired hundreds of thousands of American high school students to discover and commit to memory classic and contemporary poetry. This year, nearly 3,000 students participated in Vermont's Poetry Out Loud program, supported by more than 90 teachers in classrooms and in student clubs across the state. Beyond the demonstrated impact on students, Poetry Out Loud also provides excellent instructional tools for high school teachers. The Arts Council provided funds to bring skilled teaching artists to classrooms across the state.

The winners of twenty-two statewide school competitions compete at the Vermont Poetry Out Loud recitation semifinals in Barre. From there, ten students are selected to compete in the statewide final at the Flynn on March 16. The winner of the Vermont state competition then goes to the national finals in Washington, D.C., to compete against other champions from across the country.

Vermont Poetry Out Loud participating schools: St. Johnsbury Academy, Woodstock Union High School, Bellows Free Academy - St. Albans, Brattleboro Union High School, Lyndon Institute, Thetford Academy, Peoples Academy, Harwood Union High School, Winooski Middle High School, Arlington Memorial High School, Champlain Valley Union High School, Hazen Union School, U-32 Middle High School, Bellow Free Academy - Fairfax, South Burlington High School, Burr and Burton Academy, Stratton Mountain School, Mount Mansfield Union High School, Rice Memorial High School, Williamstown, Burlington High School, Milton High School.

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