State Poetry Champion To Compete For National Title

 A West Virginia high school student has been named a finalist in the national Poetry Out Loud competition and will compete in Washington, D.C., for the grand prize.

St. Mary’s High School senior Willow Peyton will compete for the title of 2024 Poetry Out Loud National Champion and a $20,000 award at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium Thursday night.

Peyton is one of nine finalists out of a field of 55 state and jurisdictional champions from across the country to compete reciting classic and contemporary poetry. 

In an interview published by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Peyton likened the poetry recitations to a theatrical performance.

“I love seeing the different interpretations of the poems themselves. There’s so many things you have to learn about her poems and how to recite them correctly and memorizing them that’s different yet so alike to acting in theater.” 

A program of the NEA and the Poetry Foundation along with the state and jurisdictional arts agencies, Poetry Out Loud has reached more than 4.4 million students since it began in 2005. 

This year’s state and jurisdictional champions advanced from more than 160,000 students nationwide. 

“I think I’ll look back on it as an insanely positive experience, no matter the outcome,” Peyton said.

The competition finals will be live streamed on the NEA website, as well as on their YouTube.