On April 23-25, 2018 Sophie Weinzinger, a junior at Coconino High School in Flagstaff, represented Arizona at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals in Washington, DC. Competing against State Champions from all 50 states and US territories, Weinzinger was one of only nine students to advance to the final round of competition!
The Arizona Poetry Out Loud State Finals were held at the studios of Arizona PBS in Downtown Phoenix on Saturday, March 3. After three rounds of recitations, Sophie Weinzinger, a junior at Coconino High School, was named State Champion while Antonio Juarez, a senior at Willow Canyon High School in Surprise, was named first runner-up.
On Saturday, March 3, 2018, 9 high school students from all across the state will step onto the stage and into the spotlight to recite poems for a live audience and Arizona PBS’s TV cameras. In April, Arizona PBS and Arizona Public Media will televise a half-hour special featuring highlights from the competition!
The 2018 Arizona Poetry Out Loud Regional Finals will be held in Tucson, Flagstaff, and Phoenix in February 2018. At each event, the top students from each region’s participating schools will compete to represent the region at the State Finals in March. These events are free and open to the public,
“All too soon, my English teacher beckoned me to the podium, but I was glued to my seat, desperately trying to remember how to breathe. I could already feel the stares piercing mercilessly through my soul. Then I recalled an adage my dad once told me: ‘Nobody is brave every minute of every day; you only need five seconds of courage at a time to make the change you want to see.'”
This week we’re celebrating National Arts in Education Week. Yesterday we talked about some of our arts learning programs and today, we take a closer look at one of our favorites: Poetry Out Loud. Recently we spoke with Eleanor Billingsly, Program Manager at the NEA, about the program and its benefits to the students who participate and their communities.
Next week, 53 State and Jurisdictional champions, including Arizona’s own Kellen Vu, will descend on Washington, D.C. to vie for the title of Poetry Out Loud National Champion and a $20,000 award. For those unable to attend the event in person, a live, one-time only webcast is available online at www.arts.gov. The National Endowment for… Read more »
As if the Arizona Poetry Out Loud state finals weren’t exciting enough, the 2017 finals were held in the downtown Phoenix studios of Arizona PBS. On March 11, 2017, 10 high school students from all across the state stepped on to the stage and into the spotlight to recite poems for a live audience and Arizona PBS’s TV cameras. In April, Arizona PBS and… Read more »
Kellen Vu, a sophomore at Arizona School for the Arts in Phoenix, will represent Arizona at the 12th Annual Poetry Out Loud national finals competition in Washington, D.C., April 25-26, 2017. The Arizona Poetry Out Loud State Finals were held on Saturday, March 12, 2017, at the studios of Arizona PBS in Downtown Phoenix.
On Saturday, March 11, 2017, 10 high school students from throughout the state will compete in the poetry recitation contest for an opportunity to represent Arizona at the 12th Annual Poetry Out Loud National Finals in Washington, D.C.