CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Forty-two students from across West Virginia will recite poems by Nikki Giovanni, Robert Frost, Willie Perdomo, Emily Dickinson, and many others during the 2025 Poetry Out Loud state finals competition set for Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1, 2025, at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex, in Charleston. All sessions are free and open to the public.
The semifinal competition begins with Division I at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 28, followed by Division II at 2:30 p.m. Saturday’s final competition begins at 1 p.m.
For the final round of competition on Saturday, the master of ceremonies will be storyteller, author and recording artist Bil Lepp, whose humorous, family friendly tall-tales and stories have earned the appreciation of readers and listeners of all ages.
In addition to the championship round of recitations, Saturday’s program will feature greetings from 2024 WV Poetry Out Loud state champion Willow Peyton, a performance by musician Mary Linscheid, and remarks from West Virginia poet laureate Marc Harshman.
Harshman will serve as a judge for the competition, alongside writers and poets Torli Bush, Abbey Delk, Sara Henning, Joel Peckham, Doug Van Gundy, and Randi Ward.
The state champion receives $200, and the school or organization represented by the champion receives $500 to purchase poetry books and materials. The runner-up receives $100 while the school receives $200 for poetry books and materials. The state champion will also represent West Virginia at the 2025 national Poetry Out Loud competition to be held in Washington, D.C. on May 5-7.
Participating students and teachers receive original works created by West Virginia artists. The state champion and runner-up also will receive trophies handcrafted by West Virginia artist Matt Thomas.
Poetry Out Loud is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry Magazine, the oldest English-language monthly publication dedicated to verse. The program is designed to encourage high school-age students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance and competition.
For more information, contact Jim Wolfe, arts in education coordinator, at (304) 558-0240 or email him at james.d.wolfe@wv.gov.
ALPHABETICAL SCHOOL LIST WITH STUDENT COMPETITORS:
Berkeley Springs High School – Hunter Hook
Bridgeport High School – Jay Scott
Cabell Midland High School – Maxwell Harris
Capital High School – Alexandria Plear
Charleston Catholic High School – Danny Linton
Clay-Battelle High School – Whitley Hardin
East Hardy High School – Kaelynn Reigel
Fairmont Senior High School – Shaila King
George Washington High School – Malia Saar
Gilmer County High School – Paisley Hamrick
Grafton High School – Alexa Swyck
Greenbrier East High School – Gracie Campbell
Lewis County High School – Isaac Minigh
Lincoln High School – Marissa Barajas
Logan High School – Emily Porter
Magnolia High School – Vanessa Cogar
Meadow Bridge High School – Alexiana Brunty
Moorefield High School – Jedidiah Blizzard
Morgantown High School – Gulse Polat
Nicholas County High School – Jasmine Hopson
Nitro High School – Langston Kardos
Notre Dame High School – Audrey Kosydar
Oak Glen High School – Corbin Deremer
Oak Hill High School – Jordyn Floyd
Parkersburg High School – Brittany Ward
Paw Paw High School – Donovan Tanouye
Philip Barbour High School – Thomas Sanetrik
Preston High School – Julya Johnson
Richwood High School – Kailyn Williams
Saint Albans High School – Tamara Gregory
Scott High School – Emma Beasley
Shady Spring High School – Nicholas Lilly
Sissonville High School – Danielle Frame
South Charleston High School – Mattie Vandale
Spring Mills High School – Grace Fling
St. Marys High School – Emma Weikart
Weir High School – Sienna Finsley
Wetzel County Technical Education Center – Brenna Clark
Wheeling Park High School – Ava Mick
Winfield High School – Braylie Smolder
Woodrow Wilson High School – Carson Misch
Wyoming East High School – Audrey Steele