Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

McCorkle prevails in local Poetry Out Loud contest

New Rockford-Sheyenne High School has announced their winner of the school level contest for Poetry Out Loud (POL) National Recitation Contest.

The student winner, and 2023 New Rockford-Sheyenne High School POL Champion is Donavun McCorkle. Currently in 9th grade, Donavun will advance to the state contest at the North Dakota State Heritage Center in Bismarck on February 27, to compete for the title of North Dakota State Poetry Out Loud Champion. The champion at the state level will receive $200 and an opportunity to compete for the national championship scheduled for spring 2023 in Washington, D.C. The school of the state champion will receive $500 for the purchase of poetry materials.

Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program presented in partnership with the North Dakota Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition.

More than four million students have participated in Poetry Out Loud since 2005, many advancing from classroom competitions to school competitions to state competitions and ultimately to the national finals where students compete for the grand prize of $20,000. Non-school organizations, such as after-school clubs, libraries, or nonprofit organizations, may also host Poetry Out Loud and have students advance to state competitions. In total, Poetry Out Loud will award more than $100,000 to state- and national-level winners and their schools in 2022.

To learn more about the North Dakota POL contest, contact Rebecca Engelman, Arts in Education Director for North Dakota Council on the Arts at [email protected], 701-328-7593, or visit poetryoutloud.org.