CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Forty-six students from across West Virginia will recite poems by Naomi Shihab Nye, Robert Frost, Chen Chen, Emily Dickinson and many others during the 2024 Poetry Out Loud state finals competition set for Friday, March 8, and Saturday, March 9, at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex, in Charleston. All participants are listed below.
Friday’s competition will be emceed by Maggie Holley, the education director at West Virginia Public Broadcasting. 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. Though a five-time champion of the WV Liars Contest, Lepp’s stories often contain universal truths presented in clever and witty ways.
The semifinal competition begins with Division I at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, March 8, followed by Division II at 2:30 p.m. Saturday’s final competition begins at 1 p.m. In addition to the championship round of recitations, Saturday’s program will feature greetings from 2022 and 2023 WV Poetry Out Loud state champion Morgan Sprouse, musical performances from Aristotle Jones and Dr. Ray Singleton, and remarks from West Virginia poet laureate Marc Harshman. All sessions are free and open to the public.
Harshman will serve as a judge for the competition, alongside West Virginia writers and poets Randi Ward, Joel Peckham, Rajia Hassib and Colleen Anderson.
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 2024 national Poetry Out Loud competition to be held in Washington, D.C. From April 30 through May 2.
Participating students and teachers receive original works created by West Virginia artists. The winner and runner-up will also 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 james.d.wolfe@wv.gov.
ALPHABETICAL SCHOOL LIST WITH STUDENT COMPETITORS:
Berkeley Springs High School – Hunter Hook
Bridgeport High School – Jay Scott
Buckhannon-Upshur High School – Jordan James
Cabell Midland High School – Maxwell Harris
Capital High School – Isaiah Canterbury
Clay-Battelle High School – Whitley Hardin
East Hardy High School – Kaelynn Reigel
Fairmont Senior High School – Riley Moore
George Washington High School – Clay Dusenbury
Gilmer County High School – Alena Gray
Grafton High School – Alexa Swyck
Greenbrier East High School – Christian Montgomery
Hurricane High School – Sarah Peyton
Lewis County High School – Aylah Johnson
Lincoln High School (Harrison County) – Myah Riley
Logan High School – Emily Porter
Magnolia High School – Vanessa Cogar
Meadow Bridge High School – Erin Fox
Moorefield High School – Anna Bowen
Morgantown High School – John Spellman
Nicholas County High School – Emily Sparks
Nitro High School – Layken Gunnoe
Notre Dame High School – Audrey Kosydar
Oak Glen High School – Ella Dennis
Oak Hill High School – Jordyn Floyd
Parkersburg High School – Emma Withrow
Paw Paw High School – Kiel Gee
Philip Barbour High School – Tara Leigh Rice
PikeView High School – Kinsley McCormick
Pocahontas County High School – Sabina Leyzorek
Richwood High School – Kailyn Williams
Ripley High School – Jeremiah Franklin
Saint Albans High School – JozLind Lazare
Shady Spring High School – Nicholas Lilly
Sissonville High School – Bailey Dore
South Charleston High School – Meagan Marquez
Spring Mills High School – Julia Stedman
St. Marys High School – Willow Peyton
Tucker County High School – Zane Paul
Tyler Consolidated High School – Ralynn Heintzman
Weir High School – Sienna Finsley
Westside High School – Riley Lester
Wheeling Park High School – Ava Mick
Winfield High School – Braylie Smolder
Woodrow Wilson High School – Carson Misch
Wyoming East High School – Piper Cook