2018 NH Poetry Out Loud Championship, March 9

After months of classroom preparation and high school competitions, and following four regional semi-finals, top students are ready to compete at the New Hampshire 2018 Poetry Out Loud state championship in Concord on March 9. The winner will move on to this year’s national competition in Washington, D.C.

The state championship takes place in Representatives Hall at the New Hampshire State House in Concord beginning at 6 p.m. New Hampshire Public Radio’s Virginia Prescott will host; Jordan Tyrell-Wysocki and Matt Jenson will provide musical interludes throughout the evening.

The event is open to the public and there is no charge to attend.

A national program organized by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, and led in New Hampshire by the N.H. State Council on the Arts, Poetry Out Loud encourages students to learn great poetry through memorization and recitation, helping them master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage.

Each winner at the state level receives $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip with an adult chaperone to Washington, D.C., to compete for the national championship. The state winner's school receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The first runner-up in each state receives $100, with $200 for his or her school. A total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends is awarded annually at the National Finals.

Students, educators and parents consistently report that being identified as a talented presenter of great poetry is an experience that changes lives.

In New Hampshire, approximately 9,000 students from 44 high schools take part in the program each year; there is no cost to compete and all materials are provided to enrolled schools. A map of schools participating in the 2018 program is available from the Poetry Out Loud section of the NHSCA’s website, nh.gov/nharts.

New Hampshire’s Poetry Out Loud supporters include the Putnam Foundation – a donor-advised fund of the N.H. Charitable Foundation – and the New Hampshire Writers Project. Other partners include New Hampshire Public Radio, the Poetry Society of New Hampshire, Slam Free or Die, the Frost Place, Granite State Ambassadors and the Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire.

To learn more about 2018 New Hampshire Poetry Out Loud, view the calendar of high school competition dates, or find out how schools can be involved in future competitions, visit nh.gov/nharts and click on the Poetry Out Loud button. For additional information, contact Julianne Gadoury, New Hampshire State Council on the Arts at 603-271-0791, julianne.gadoury@dncr.nh.gov.

The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts is a division of the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. It began in 1965 with legislation designed “to insure that the role of the arts in the life of our communities will continue to grow and play an ever more significant part in the education and welfare of our citizens.” Funding for programs is provided through state appropriations, a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Conservation License Plate fund. Learn more about the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts at nh.gov/nharts.

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