Congratulations to the Poetry Out Loud Southern Regional Semi-Finalists!

 

Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest is a national program for high-school students and teachers that seeks to foster the next generation of literary readers by celebrating the recitation and performance of poetry. The National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation partner with state arts agencies to bring the Poetry Out Loud program to all 50 states and the US territories. The UA Poetry Center hosts the semi-finals for the Southern Region of Arizona, and we're excited to announce the three winners, who will participate in the statewide competition for a chance to compete at the Nationals in Washington, DC. We'd also like to extend our congratulations to all of the participants, who brought enthusiasm, passion, and care to each of their performances.

First Place: Lucia Iurino, The Gregory School

Lucia Iurino is an unofficial scholar of many subjects, from the Golden age of Piracy to the theatrical works of Dave Malloy. She enjoys rainy days, and old radio shows. She makes around five cups of tea a day, and sometimes forgets to drink them. Her favorite word is serendipity.

Poems performed:

"Sonnet 15 [When I consider everything that grows]" by William Shakespeare
"Today" by Billy Collins
“A noiseless patient spider” by Walt Whitman

Second Place: Karen Jie, The Gregory School

Bubbly and bursting with creativity, Karen loves acting, making films, and drawing online comics through her anonymous persona. She also enjoys making silly podcasts with her friends. Karen is excited to share her love of poetry with you all as this is her last year in Poetry Out Loud.

Poems performed:

"One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII" by Pablo Neruda
"Where the Wild Things Go" by D. Gilson
"'Hope' is the thing with feathers - (314)" by Emily Dickinson

Third Place: Anya Moseke, Tucson High Magnet School

Anya Moseke is a junior at Tucson High Magnet School and a lover of the performing arts. She has been involved with theatrical performance from a young age, but in her freshman year of high school, became completely enamored with expressing thought and emotion through the medium of poetry.

Poems performed:

"Eve Revisited" by Alison Hawthorne Deming
"An Apology for Her Poetry" by Duchess of Newcastle Margaret Cavendish
"Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art" by John Keats

 

Congratulations to the three winners and good luck at the statewide competition!

Category: 

Education