Congratulations to Anthony Plummer of Moscow High School, winner of the 2018 Idaho State Poetry Out Loud competition! Julie Dransfield of Eagle High School was 1st runner up and Mason Moore of Teton High rounded out the top three. Kudos to all the participants and finalists on a job well done.

Poetry Out Loud is a contest that encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation have partnered with state arts agencies, including the Idaho Commission on the Arts to support Poetry Out Loud. The 2018 event was presented in collaboration with Storyfort. Special thanks to Poetry Out Loud coordinator Sarah Poe, emcee Jodi Eichelberger, poet Michael Earl Craig, and sponsors the Modern Hotel and Rediscovered Books.

In the 2017-2018 school year, Poetry Out Loud Idaho had 2,874 students and 46 teachers participating in 22 high schools across the state. The Idaho State Finalist receives $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip with a chaperone to Washington, D.C. to compete for the national championship. The state winner’s school receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The first runner-up in each state receives $100, with $200 for his or her school library. A total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends is awarded annually at the National Finals.

For more information, contact Ruth Piispanen, Arts Education Director at 208-488-7508 or ruth.piispanen@arts.idaho.gov