DELMAR — Bethlehem Central High School junior Pamela White is taking her poetry skills to the national level as she competes in the Poetry Out Loud 2022 National Finals in Washington D.C. on Sunday, June 5.
What began in November as a classroom assignment will culminate on Sunday, June 5 at the national championship sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.
White, who last month prevailed against a field of more than 50 students representing their respective states, is now one of nine students who will compete. She advanced to the final round after a top-rated performance in the semifinals of the poetry recitation contest.
A total of 54 students representing every state in the nation along with Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S Virgin Islands began the semifinal round, reciting two poems each. White chose “Candles” by Carl Dennis “Oranges” by Roisin Kelly for her recitations.
“It has been a joy to have witnessed Pam’s ascent through all four rounds of Poetry Out Loud this year; from the school contest to regionals to states, and then the National semifinal,” said English teacher Andrew Rickert. “This has required a tremendous amount of time and dedication on her behalf which I commend her for.”
The national winner will be awarded $20,000 and all nine students will walk away with at least $1,000. Poet, publisher, and New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander will host the virtual event that will include poetry recitations by each of the finalists and the announcement of the National Champion.
Rickert, who brought Poetry Out Loud to Bethlehem in 2018 and who has made it an annual tradition every year since had this to say about Pamela White’s success in the prestigious poetry recitation competition.
“Advancing beyond the National semifinal truly cements her talent as one of the best in the country,” Rickert said. “She’s very modest and might not want to look at it like this but the truth is she’s outlasted dozens of state champions and tens of thousands of competitors nationwide. She’s kind of a big deal.”
For this competition, each student memorizes and recites classic and contemporary poems selected from more than 1,100 in the Poetry Out Loud anthology. Judges review and score the recitations based on criteria including physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding, overall performance and accuracy.
A total of $50,000 in awards and school or organizational stipends will be given at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, including a $20,000 award for the National Champion, $10,000 for 2nd place, $5,000 for 3rd place, and $1,000 for 4th–9th places. The representing schools/organizations of each of the top nine finalists receive $500 for the purchase of poetry materials. There was one honorable mention recipient announced on May 1 in each of three national semifinals competitions—Niveah Glover (Florida), Eakjot Kaur Sekhon (Nevada), and Morgan Sprouse (West Virginia). Those students do not advance to the June 5 finals, but will each receive a $1,000 cash award and a $500 stipend for their school or organization. The Poetry Foundation provides and administers all aspects of the monetary prizes awarded for Poetry Out Loud.
Poet, publisher, and New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander will host the virtual event that will include poetry recitations by each of the finalists and the announcement of the National Champion.
The 2022 national finals judges are Francisco Aragón, Candice Iloh, Rosa Joshi, Dante Medema, Joan Naviyuk Kane, and Marcus Wicker. For bios for the judges and more information on the 55 Poetry Out Loud state and jurisdictional champions, download the 2022 Poetry Out Loud program book.
The Poetry Out Loud national finals are administered by Mid Atlantic Arts. The 2022 competition will culminate on Sunday, June 5, 2022, with a one-time-only webcast available on the NEA’s website at Arts.gov/Poetry-Out-Loud beginning at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT / 4 p.m. PT. Closed captioning in English and Spanish and American Sign Language interpretation will be provided for the Poetry Out Loud national finals.
A partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the state and jurisdictional arts agencies, Poetry Out Loud™ is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. The program starts in the classroom/school or at the local level with an area organization. Winners then may advance to a regional and/or state competition, and ultimately to the national finals. Awards and placements are determined solely by the judges’ scores based on the Poetry Out Loud Evaluation Criteria. Poetry Out Loud takes place in all 50 states, American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since the program began in 2005, more than 4.1 million students and 68,000 teachers from 17,000 schools and organizations across the nation have participated in Poetry Out Loud. For more information about Poetry Out Loud and how to participate in the 2022–2023 program, visit PoetryOutLoud.org
