Eight high school students reach S.C. Poetry Out Loud finals
State finals to be held March 14 in Columbia
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Eight South Carolina high school students reached the March 9 state finals for Poetry Out Loud – an annual, nationwide recitation contest – after regional competitions in Charleston and Spartanburg.
The S.C. Arts Commission (SCAC) coordinates Poetry Out Loud in South Carolina, partnering with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation to bring the competition to state high schools. In the 2019/2020 school year, around 2,600 students from 21 schools in 12 counties participated. School competition winners competed against students in their region to move on to the state finals.
The following eight regional finalists will compete on Saturday, March 14, 2020 at the Richland Library Main Branch in Columbia from 3-5 p.m.:
- David Jones (Southside High School in Greenville)
- Rowland Marshall (Wando High School in Charleston)
- Anna Matson (Aiken High School in Aiken)
- Jackson Penn (Academy for the Arts, Science, and Technology in Longs)
- Emma Rose Radcliff (Waccamaw High School in Georgetown)
- Carson Stehling (Charleston County School of the Arts in Charleston)
- Taylor Wade (Andrew Jackson High School in Lancaster)
- Emily Yi (Southside High School in Greenville)
This event is free and open to the public. The winner of the state finals will represent South Carolina in the national finals April 27-29, 2020 in Washington.
State winners receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in the national finals, and the state winner’s school will receive $500 for the purchase of poetry materials. Each state’s first runner-up, and that student’s school, receives a cash prize as well. The national winner receives a $20,000 cash prize.
About Poetry Out Loud
Now in its 14th year, Poetry Out Loud helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. Created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation in 2005, Poetry Out Loud is administered in partnership with the State arts agencies of all 50 states,
the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Poetry Out Loud offers more than $100,000 is prizes and school stipends each year. It provides free teacher resources and a comprehensive website with a large anthology of classic and contemporary poems, audio and video clips, as well as complete contest information.
Since its establishment in 2005, Poetry Out Loud has grown to reach nearly 3.8 million students and 60,000 teachers from 16,000 schools in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information, visit PoetryOutLoud.org.
About the South Carolina Arts Commission
With a commitment to excellence across the spectrum of our state’s cultures and forms of expression, the South Carolina Arts Commission pursues its public charge to develop a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education, and economic vitality for all South Carolinians.
Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission works to increase public participation in the arts by providing grants, direct programs, staff assistance and partnerships in three key areas:
- arts education,
- community arts development,
- and artist development.
Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina, by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. For more information, visit SouthCarolinaArts.com or call 803.734.8696.
