Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation competition for high school students that begins in the classroom and culminates in the National Finals in Washington, DC. Drawing upon elements of spoken word, theater, and slam poetry, Poetry Out Loud cultivates an appreciation of poetry that goes beyond the page. On March 8, 2025, the Arizona Poetry Out Loud State Finals were held at Arizona State University's Memorial Union in Tempe. We're delighted to announce the 2025 Arizona National Finalist, Liam McLaughlin, as well as the second through fourth place winners: Isabel Teran, Yuliana Alvarez, and Anllely Corral. Congratulations to the four of them as well as to all of the state finalists who competed on March 8!

The winners recited the following poems:

Liam McLaughlin, Gary K. Herberger Young Scholars Academy

• "We Used Our Words We Used What Words We Had" by Franny Choi
• "Songs for the People" by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
• "El Olvido" by Judith Ortiz Cofer

 Isabel Teran, Sahuarita High School

• “Flowers” by Cynthia Zarin
• “No I Wasn’t Meant To Love And Be Loved” by Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib and translated by Vijay Seshadri
• “Ars Poetica” by José Olivarez

Yuliana Alvarez, Rio Rico High School

• "Broken Promises" by David Kirby
• "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
• "Against Distance" by Trey Moody

Anllely Corral, Flowing Wells High School

•  "Invisible Children" by Mariana llanos
• "Caminitos" by Carmen Tafolla
• "An Apology For Her Poetry" by Duchess of Newcastle Margaret Cavendish

McLaughlin will compete in the National Finals, which will be held on May 5th-7th in Washington, DC.