After three years, Delaware’s Poetry Out Loud State Finals returns for its first in-person competition since 2020. The recitation contest will be hosted at the Smyrna Opera House on Thursday, March 2, 2023, at 7:00pm. Twelve student finalists will compete for the opportunity to represent Delaware and move forward to the National Finals in Washington, DC from May 8-10, 2023. This event is FREE to the public and seating is limited.
Here are the 2023 Delaware State finalists:
Bekah Booth – Delaware Valley Classical School
Maiss Hussein – Hodgson Vo-Tech High School
Emily Roth – MOT High School
Aiden Morris – Mount Sophia Academy
Lale Ergen – Newark Charter High School
Julia Nowaczyk – Padua Academy
Hunter Brown – Red Lion Christian Academy
Abigail Ehemann – Saint Mark’s High School
Kaylee Rathbone – Sanford School
Joelle Caternor – Smyrna High School
Morgan Burnett – Sussex Central High School
Ololade Olubowale – Tatnall School
Poetry Out Loud, in partnership with the Delaware Division of the Arts, is a national arts education program that encourages and motivates the study of poetry by offering free educational materials and a competition for high school students across the country.
The Delaware state champion will receive $200 and move on to the national finals next spring, where $50,000 in awards and school/organizational stipends will be distributed to the winners.
