Poetry Out Loud

Logos Academy recently held its 7th Annual Poetry Out Loud competition. Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that enables and encourages students from all fifty states, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, to study, memorize, and recite great works of poetry. Since its founding in 2005, Poetry Out Loud has reached more than 3.6 million students. The students who competed in the Logos Academy competition were required to select two poems from the 900+ poem Poetry Out Loud Anthology, that includes both classic and contemporary works.

Winners from the individual school competitions will go on to represent their schools at the regional, state and eventually national competition. Student recitations are judged on accuracy, physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding, and overall performance. An excellent panel of judges was recruited to serve in evaluating the students’ performances. The panel of judges included several former Poet Laureates of York, published poets, and renowned spoken word artists. This year’s judges included: Le Hinton, Christine Lincoln, Edquina Washington, Dustin Nispel, and Dr. Rob Fawcett.

This year, Logos Academy had seven students from grades 8-11 competing in the event, with sophomore Laurali Breeden, emerging as the overall winner. She will go on to represent Logos Academy at the regional competition in Gettysburg at the end of January. Shanika Holcomb, also a sophomore, was the third place winner and Arlette Morales, also a sophomore, was the runner-up.