A Hamilton County high school student is one of seven teenagers competing for the 2025 Poetry Out Loud state championship title.
This year’s local representative is Anastasia Shivers, a senior who is representing the Arts Equity Collective, a local nonprofit that recruits and contracts teaching artists of various disciplines to work in classrooms. The other finalists are:
- Julia Neal, junior, River Valley High School (Gallia County)
- Zeke Moses, freshman, Bexley High School (Franklin County)
- Yali Yax, senior, Toledo Early College (Lucas County)
- Houda Loukssi, senior, Xenia High School (Greene County)
- Akua Asarewaa Owusu-Ampadu, senior, Westerville Central High School (Delaware County)
- Dallas Kohl, senior, Aurora High School (Portage County)
They’ll compete Friday, Feb. 7 at WOSU Public Media’s Ross Community Studio in Columbus. The winner advances to the POL National Finals in Washington, D.C., May 5-7.
“It’s an exciting time to be part of Poetry Out Loud,” said Ohio Arts Council Executive Director Donna S. Collins. “For 20 years, this nationwide program has helped students study the art of poetry, all while gaining important skills for the workplace, like public presentation. We congratulate this year’s outstanding group of students.”
About the competition
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation created POL. Arts agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico administer the program at the local level. The Ohio Arts Council leads the contest in the Buckeye State.
POL encourages students to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation while helping students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary heritage and contemporary life. It is the nation’s largest poetry recitation competition.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the program.
At the State Finals, students recite their poems in three rounds in front of a live audience. Judges evaluate each student’s performance. This year’s judges are Mido Aly, Thomas Ellison and Caira Lee, each a former Ohio POL state champions. The 2025 State Champion title will go to the student with the highest combined score covering the three rounds.
Besides a berth in the national finals, the winner of Ohio’s POL State Finals will receive a $200 prize and a work of art created by Passion Works Studio based in Athens, Ohio. Their school library will also receive $500 to support future learning.
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