Congratulations to the Poetry Out Loud State Finalists!

On Saturday, March 11th, we hosted the 2023 Poetry Out Loud New York State Final event at the Center for Fiction in Brooklyn, NY.  Twenty students representing schools and counties from around New York State gathered to perform great poetry.

The event marked the culmination of several months of hard work and preparation. Students begin their Poetry Out Loud journey in their schools, performing and competing among their classmates. Each school then sends students to represent them on the regional Semifinal level. Ten Semifinal events were held in February – nine in-person events and one virtual. The winner and runner-up of each Semifinal went on to compete in the State Final. See the New York State Final Program for a full list of the 20 State Finalists and the schools represented.

After three rounds of spectacular student performances at the state final, James Masson of Syosset High School was named the 2023 New York State Poetry Out Loud Champion.  The runner-up was Moses Usen, Cornwall Central High School.  James Masson went on to represent New York State at the Poetry Out Loud Nationals in Washington, D.C., May 8-10th.

2023 New York State Poetry Out Loud Champion James Masson and 2nd Place Winner, Moses Usen

Both the winner and runner up of the 2023 State Final won cash prizes for themselves and for their schools to purchase poetry materials.  In additional, all of the State finalists received a gift of a full year subscription to Poets & Writers Magazine and copies of the The Best American Poetry 2022, courtesy of Simon & Schuster.

Visit twc.org/poetry-out-loud for more information about Poetry Out Loud in New York.