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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Gabrielle Cooper, a student at Gardiner Area High School, is one of 53 students from around the country who will compete at the Poetry Out Loud national finals on April 25.
Cooper, of Pittston, will take the stage at the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University, and possibly be one of nine who advance to the finals on April 26. Both days will be webcast live at arts.gov, according to a news release from the National Endowment for the Arts. Some 310,000 students competed in school and regional finals before the competition was winnowed down to the 53 semifinalists.
Poetry Out Loud is a national initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Poetry Foundation and the state arts agencies that encourages high school students to learn more about great poetry, both classic and contemporary, through memorization and performance, the release said.
“We know that these 53 students have made it to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals through hard work, talent, and confidence, but also with the support and encouragement of their teachers, peers, families, and states,” said Jane Chu, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “Whether it’s a classroom competition or the national finals, it is always a joy to see the students’ enthusiasm for poetry and dedication to expressing the poems’ beauty and meaning to the audience.”
“It’s exciting when a high school student finds a personal connection with a poem committed to memory, whether it was written one year or one hundred years ago,” said Henry Bienen, president of the Poetry Foundation. “The dramatization and recitation of classic and contemporary poems can strike a deep chord proving that poetry is both timeless and timely.”
