Stories of Southold

Level V Dancer, Eve-Marie Baxter from Pelican Academy Homeschool (South Bend) will be competing in the Poetry Out Loud 2025 National Finals May 6-7 in Washington, DC. She will represent the state of Indiana in the national competition after winning first place in the Indiana state contest March 1.

When asked how poetry has changed for her since she started competing in Poetry Out Loud, Baxter said, “Performing poetry is not just about a formal recital of the words but getting to know them and communicating that knowledge to the audience.”

Out of the 157,000 students that participated in Poetry Out Loud nationwide this school year, 55 state and territorial winners will compete for the national champion title and a $20,000 cash prize. On Tuesday, May 6, one champion from every state and American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands will compete in the national semifinals. Each poem recitation will be judged on criteria including physical presence, voice and articulation, interpretation, evidence of understanding, overall performance, and accuracy. The top three students from each semifinal, nine in total, will move on to the National Finals on May 7.

The semifinals and finals will take place at the Lisner Auditorium at the George Washington University and will be available through a one-time only webcast at Arts.gov/Poetry-Out-Loud.

Visit PoetryOutLoud.org for the list of the 2025 Poetry Out Loud champions who will take part in the competition.