Emily Friedrichsen, a freshman at Champlain Valley Union (CVU) High School, took top honors at the Poetry Out Loud State Finals, held at Vermont PBS on March 16. Friedrichsen was one of ten finalists representing schools from across the state. Friedrichsen secured the championship through flawless recitation of three poems, including “Very Large Moth,” by Craig Arnold and “The Tables Turned,” by William Wordsworth. Despite the bright lights and cameras, Emily performed with poise and just the right level of dramatic flair. Emily Klar, Lake Region Union High School, was the runner up. The finals competition will be aired on Vermont PBS Wednesday, April 5.
Friedrichsen will now advance to the 2017 National Finals, to be held April 25 and 26, 2017 at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. She will receive $200 in addition to an all-expense paid trip to Washington, DC, for herself and a chaperone. Champlain Valley Union High School will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. Klar will receive $100, plus $200 toward poetry books for Lake Region Union High School.
Students from 53 high schools – champions from every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands – will compete for a total of $50,000 in scholarship awards and school stipends at the National Finals. The National Champion will receive a $20,000 college scholarship.
This year, more than 5,500 Vermont students participated in classroom contests, with winners proceeding to school competitions. “The Poetry Out Loud program not only connects students to poets and poetry, it helps students develop transferable skills like communication and analysis that prepare them for college, career, and life,” said Troy Hickman, Vermont Arts Council education programs manager. The Poetry Out Loud program was created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, and is administered statewide by the Vermont Arts Council. Now celebrating its twelfth year in Vermont, Poetry Out Loud has inspired hundreds of thousands of American high school students to discover and know by heart classic and contemporary poetry.