DELAWARE’S 2023 POETRY OUT LOUD WINNER MAISS HUSSEIN ON THE MIC IN LAST YEAR’S FINALS. (JAREK RUTZ/DELAWARE LIVE NEWS)
Twelve of the finest high school poets Delaware has to offer have been picked to take the stage at the Smyrna Opera House Thursday for this year’s Poetry Out Loud finals.
Last year’s winner was Maiss Hussein from Paul M. Hodgson Vocational Technical High School, who was crowned the First State champion with her recitation of Tarfia Faizullah’s “The Poem You’ve Been Waiting For.”
2023 WINNER: Hodgson’s Maiss Hussein wins 2023 Poetry Out Loud contest
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 helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about literary history and contemporary life.
2024’s finalists will compete for the opportunity to represent Delaware and advance to the national finals in Washington, D.C. April 30 to May 3, where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed.
2023 FINALISTS: 12 students compete for Delaware poetry crown March 2
At their school, students selected and recited works from an anthology of more than 1,200 poems. Their teachers or facilitators ran their school’s local Poetry Out Loud competition that then selected a winner to be moved on to the state finals.
Thursday’s state finals –which start at 6 p.m. and will last about three hours and several rounds — are free to the public, but be sure to get there early because the limited seats fill up quickly. It will also be livestreamed here.
Here are this year’s finalists:
- Jono McGarvey, Delaware Valley Classical School
- Grace Sullivan, MOT Charter High School
- Olivia Stevens, Mount Sophia Academy
- Maiss Hussein, Paul M. Hodgson Vocational Technical High School
- Hunter Brown, Red Lion Christian Academy
- Abigail Ehemann, Saint Mark’s High School
- Perrin Brown, Sanford School
- Joelle Caternor, Smyrna High School
- Harrison Dabbs, Sussex Academy of Arts & Sciences
- Nife Anawo, Sussex Central High School
- Caliana Velasquez, Sussex Technical High School
- Jamie Feldman, Wilmington Friends School
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN’s Michael Smerconish’s YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
Jarek can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (215) 450-9982. Follow him on Twitter @jarekrutz
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