25 Students To Compete This Sunday In The Massachusetts State Finals Of POETRY OUT LOUD

Twenty-five students from across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts advanced from this weekend's five regional semi-final contests of the 14th annual Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest to compete in the State Finals on Sunday, March 10 at the Old South Meeting House (310 Washington Street, Boston). The event begins at 9:30am and is free and open to the public. The Huntington Theatre Company's Education Department has facilitated the Massachusetts chapter of this national contest in partnership with the Mass Cultural Council since its inception 14 years ago.

The 2019 Poetry Out Loud Massachusetts Finalists are: (listed alphabetically by school)

1. Diana Kulmizev, Agawam High School (Agawam, MA)
2. Joseph Zhang, Algonquin Regional High School (Northborough, MA)
3. Ruth Shiferaw, Boston Latin School (Boston, MA)
4. Manoah Ladouceur, Community Academy of Science and Health (Dorchester, MA)
5. Jessica Wulf, Framingham High School (Framingham, MA)
6. Samhita Modak, Franklin High School (Franklin, MA)
7. Yumin Shivdasani, Groton School (Groton, MA)
8. Elsa Little-Gill, Hanover High School (Hanover, MA)
9. Rebecca Rosenbaum, Hull High School (Hull, MA)
10. Carolyn Brooks, Innovation Academy Charter School (Tyngsborough, MA)
11. Grace Hwang, International School of Boston (Cambridge, MA)
12. Elton Muchugi, Leominster High School (Leominster, MA)
13. Esther Yen, Longmeadow High School (Longmeadow, MA)
14. Abigail Lacroix, Methuen High School (Methuen, MA)
15. Greta Luf, Monument Mountain Regional High School (Great Barrington, MA)
16. Mary Callanan, Mystic Valley Regional Charter School (Malden, MA)
17. Phaedra Plank, Nantucket High School (Nantucket, MA)
18. Daniel Cohen, Needham High School (Needham, MA)
19. Lindsay Neilson, Newburyport High School (Newburyport, MA)
20. Rose Hansen, Norwell High School (Norwell, MA)
21. Zuleica Monteiro, Oliver Ames High School (North Easton, MA)
22. Oliver Trask, Plymouth North High School (Plymouth, MA)
23. Abigail Jones, Sturgis Charter Public School West (Hyannis, MA)
24. Sarah Guzman, Tabor Academy (Marion, MA)
25. Anya Barrett, Worcester Technical High School (Worcester, MA)

More than 21,000 students and 590 teachers participated in classroom and school-wide contests at 82 schools. 72 winners from the school level advanced to semi-final contests in Boston, Cape Cod, Framingham, Newburyport, and Springfield on March 2, March 3, and March 4. The 25 finalists were the top scoring contestants at their respective semi-final contests. The Massachusetts POL State Champion, to be named this Sunday, will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC in April to compete in the national finals.

The Huntington's Education Department facilitates the Massachusetts contest, one of the largest POL chapters in the nation, in partnership with the Mass Cultural Council. The program is facilitated nationally by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.

Poetry Out Loud (POL) is a national recitation contest run by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation that celebrates the power of the spoken word and a mastery of public speaking skills while cultivating self-confidence and an appreciation of students' literary heritage as they take poetry from the page to the stage. Since its inception, POL has inspired more than 3.6 million high school students from 14,000 schools across the country to discover and appreciate both classic and contemporary poetry. The NEA and Poetry Foundation partner with state arts agencies in all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands to support POL. Poetry Out Loud is a free program for schools, and all state contests are free and open to the public.

Learn more about Poetry Out Loud Massachusetts at huntingtontheatre.org/pol.

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