Nevada Students to Compete in 20th Annual Poetry Out Loud State Finals
RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - Seven high school students from across Nevada will compete in the 20th Annual Poetry Out Loud Nevada State Finals, a national arts education program and competition supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, at the Joe Crowley Student Union theater at the University of Nevada, Reno on Saturday, March 15.
The students will compete by reciting poetry to the audience as they seek to represent the Silver State at the National Poetry Out Loud competition, to be held in Washington, D.C., in early May.
The Poetry Out Loud competition is a nationwide program aimed at fostering students’ self-confidence and honing their public speaking skills through the art of poetry recitation. Participants select and perform poems from a curated anthology, exploring works that span literary history and contemporary themes.
The Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs that helps to stimulate artistic and economic activity across the state, has been facilitating Nevada’s participation in the program for 20 years.
District competitions invite students at schools from multiple districts to compete and were held in Carson City, Clark County, Elko County, Douglas County, Lyon County, Storey County and Washoe County. This year’s winners are Summer McGill from Carson City, Ava Torres from Clark County, Kyara Hernandez-Duarte from Elko County, Alyssa Edie from Douglas County, Mari Basaca Fuentes from Lyon County, Ana Manrique from Storey County and Rayann Hijazi from Washoe County.
A live stream of the event also will be available on the Nevada Arts Council’s YouTube channel.
To learn more about Poetry Out Loud and the National Arts Council, visit www.nvartscouncil.org/.
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