Poetry Out Loud 2023 Winners Named
For the 12th consecutive year, and hundreds of poetry recitations later, the 2023 Poetry Out Loud Competition is over with two freshmen claiming the top titles.
Officials said this year’s competition was among the most fierce in school history.
Here’s the official insiders-scoop as to what all went down on January 18 & 19 in the LCHS Auditorium.
Round One
For some context, prior to the January 18 competition, students participated in class competitions to earn a spot in the school competition. Some students won at the classroom level but chose to not participate at the school level.
Participants in Round One:
Grace Freeman, Izzy Allen, Ace Olesnavage, Audrey Starcher, Emma Clary, Hope Lamb, Lucas Turner, Joel Fay and Joseph Davisson,
gave their best shot at reciting competition-permitted poems to an audience of peers and educators.
Scores were tallied, and it was then we were made aware of who was moving on and competing for a spot at the state level:
Emma Clary, Grace Freeman, Ace Olesnavage, Hope Lamb, and Audrey Starcher.
The applause was cued for these 5 students and round one of the Poetry Out Loud Competition drew to a close.
Round Two
The very next day, entrants came into the auditorium feeling fresh and renewed ready to begin again.
One-by-one finalists presented their poems to the panel of judges.
Following the recitations, everybody was seated and given about a 10-minute recess so scores could be tallied and a winner decided.
After careful consideration contestants were called to the stage and the results were as followed:
Winner – Grace Freeman
Runner-up – Emma Clary
Everybody was congratulated, and immediately ushered together for pictures!
The competition was organized by English and Theatre Teacher Mr. Doug Seckman. Seckman and the remaining English Department members said they wish the best of luck to the Minutemen that’ll be representing LCHS at states, and possibly further.
Additional information pertaining to Poetry Out Loud exclusively can be found on the official POL website, https://www.poetryoutloud.org/
