The Idaho Commission on the Arts is excited to share the results of the Idaho Poetry Out Loud Finals which were held on Saturday, March 7th, 2020 at the South Junior High Auditorium in Boise. 9 students, from across the state, competed in the annual poetry recitation competition final. Kieran Ellis, a senior from Kuna High School took top honors for his recitation of For the Dogs Who Barked at Me on the Sidewalks in Connecticut by Hanif Abdurraqib, Son/daughter by Kai Conradi and Song: Go and catch a falling star by John Donne. Jaidyn Bruner of Mountain Home High School and Kyran Cates of Teton High School, rounded out the top three.

Idaho State finalist, Kieran Ellis, will receive $200. The state winner’s school receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. Ellis was also the written poetry winner for the national 2020 Poetry Ourselves competition. A companion to Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest, the Poetry Ourselves competition gives students the opportunity to submit original poetry. Read Kieran’s poem Drought at the 2020 Poetry Out Loud website.

In the 2019-2020 school year, Idaho Poetry Out Loud had 2,933 students and 91 teachers participating in 27 high schools across the state. The winner of each school competition advanced to the state semi-finals in Boise where 9 were selected to move on to the finals: Jaidyn Bruner (Mountain Home High School), Kyran Cates (Teton High School), Kieran Ellis (Kuna High School), Madison Hashagen (Ririe High School), Ashley Mio (Fruitland High School), Rachel Newcomb (Eagle High School), Julia Ott (Sun Valley Community School), Maria Palmer (Classical Christian Academy), and Gabriel Sevy (Sugar-Salem High School).

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, a contest that encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation.

Registration for the 2021 Poetry Out Loud contest is underway. Interested parties can find out more information on the Idaho Poetry Out Loud page.

Photos by Chelsea Harada.