Nantucket High School Announces "Poetry Out Loud" Winners

Nantucket High School recently announced the winners of the Poetry Out Loud contest.

The student winner is Anna Popnikolova. First runner-up is Danielle Lewis, with an honorable mention going to Cecilia Gagnon.

Poetry Out Loud — presented in partnership with the Huntington Theater Company of Boston, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation — 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. Since the program began in 2005, more than four million students across the country have participated in Poetry Out Loud.

On Thursday evening, January 11th, students participated in the Poetry Out Loud contest at Nantucket High School. These students recited works selected from an anthology of more than 1,100 poems. Judges evaluated student performances on criteria including voice and articulation, evidence of understanding, and accuracy.

The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation have created free, standards-based curriculum materials to support Poetry Out Loud including a teacher’s guide, lesson plans, an online anthology, posters, and video and audio on the art of recitation. These resources are available for free at PoetryOutLoud.org.

Anna Popnikolova will advance to the Massachusetts Poetry Out Loud virtual contest in March. The Massachusetts champion will receive a cash stipend and will advance to the national finals next spring where $50,000 in awards and school/organizational stipends will be distributed. The representing school or organization of the state champion and first runner-up will receive a small grant for the purchase of poetry materials. The Poetry Foundation provides and administers all aspects of the monetary prizes awarded and travel arrangements (when necessary) for the Poetry Out Loud National Finals.