An annual element of our Arts in Education programming is Poetry Out Loud. The Perry County Council of the Arts has administered a regional level competition of Poetry Out Loud since 2008. Open to all high school students in Perry, Juniata, Mifflin, Montour, Snyder, Union and Northumberland counties, Poetry Out Loud is a national memorization and recitation contest administered nationally by the Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

2025 REGIONAL POETRY OUT LOUD COMPETITORS

Isabella Armstrong
Juniata High School, Juniata County

Isabella Armstrong is a senior at Juniata High School and is very involved inside and outside of school. She is a leader, is very organized and outgoing. She likes structure, but does enjoy trying new things as well. Isabella enjoys public speaking and hopes to keep improving as she learns more.

Elizabeth Hoover, Grade 10
Newport High School, Perry County

Elizabeth Hoover is a sophomore at Newport High School. She participates in field hockey, cross country, and track and field. Elizabeth is also a member of Student Council.

Sophia Varner, Grade 10
East Juniata High School, Juniata County

I enjoy reading, biking, singing, and working with wood. I love wood burning and building things with wood. I participate in my school’s Christian Fellowship Club and love spreading God’s love with the projects we do. I have three siblings, two sisters and a brother, and I am the second oldest. I like singing at my small church and whenever I get a chance. Another one of my favorite things to do is skating, roller and ice, and swimming in the summer.

 

2025 REGIONAL POETRY OUT LOUD WINNER

2025 Regional Winner 

Newport Sophomore Elizabeth Hoover Wins Regional Poetry Out Loud Competition

Elizabeth Hoover, a sophomore at Newport High School, took first place in the regional Poetry Out Loud competition on January 29. The event was held at Incarnation United Church of Christ in Newport.

Isabella Armstrong, a senior at Juniata High School, secured second place, while Sophia Varner, a sophomore at East Juniata High School, finished third. Each contestant had previously won their school’s competition to qualify for the regional event.

Participants selected three poems to recite from a collection of 1,200 works, with at least one poem being 25 lines or fewer and another written before the 20th century. Judges Jairee Counterman, Nancy Kraft, and Virginia Parry evaluated students on their presentations, while Tony Oliveri served as the accuracy judge. Deb Britcher acted as the prompter, Jessi Burkholder was the tabulator, and Jim Bricker emceed the event. Paul Beutel provided piano accompaniment during scoring breaks.

Winning Recitations

Elizabeth Hoover, coached by Elizabeth Helmick, presented:

  • A Song: Lying is an Occupation by Laetitia Pilkington
  • A Blessing by James Wright
  • Across the Bay by Donald Davie

Isabella Armstrong, coached by Emily Wagner and Jacqueline Heidenreich, recited:

  • Dirge Without Music by Edna St. Vincent Millay
  • She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron
  • September, 1918 by Amy Lowell

Sophia Varner, coached by Jennifer Hund, delivered:

  • A Country Boy in Winter by Sarah Orne Jewett
  • After the Winter by Claude McKay
  • The Children’s Hour by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

As the regional champion, Hoover advances to the statewide competition on March 3 at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.

(Note: The poems can be found online at Poetry Out Loud by searching the poem titles.)

About Poetry Out Loud

Poetry Out Loud® is a national arts education program that promotes the appreciation of poetry through free educational resources and an engaging recitation competition. The program helps students build public speaking skills, gain confidence, and explore literary history and contemporary themes.

With a catalog of 1,200 classic and modern poems, participants select works that resonate with their experiences. They memorize and perform these pieces at school, regional, state, and national levels, competing for scholarships and cash prizes.

Created by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation, Poetry Out Loud is administered in partnership with state arts agencies. In Pennsylvania, the program is supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Since its launch in 2005, it has reached nearly 4.2 million students and 72,000 teachers from 18,000 schools nationwide.

 

 

 

 

 

Poetry Out Loud State Contest, March 3, 2025, PA State Museum

Poetry Out Loud National Contest, May 5-7, 2025, Washington, DC

 

 

Created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, Poetry Out Loud encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. The contest is facilitated through the PCA, working with regional partner organizations.

Each student at the state competition memorized and prepared three poems selected from print and online poetry anthologies. All 14 students performed in the first two rounds of competition, with the top five competing in the third and final round. Students were judged on voice and articulation, physical presence, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding, overall performance, and accuracy.

OUR 2025 JUDGES

Jairee Counterman

Jairee Counterman works in Advancement for the Cumberland County Library System and Foundation. She also currently serves as Co-President of the Rotary Club of Perry County. Past professional experiences include Director of Advancement & Alumni Relations for Carson Long Military Academy; Executive Director of The Nativity School of Harrisburg, Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts, and Neighborhood Center of the United Methodist Church; and Department Chair/Communications Professor at Central Penn College.  Jairee lives in Newport with her spoiled deaf Dalmatian, Marshall.

Tony Oliveri

Tony Oliveri, The Poet Coot, is a regular guest at PCCA Coffeehouse. He has several published books of poetry. Tony has volunteered at the Little Buffalo Festival since its inception. He has served on the PCCA Board and was named Volunteer of the Year individually and as a part of The Buffaloes.

Michael Grabauskas

 

Michael is a graduate of Cedar Cliff High School Class of 1974. He participated in speech competitions all throughout high school. Attended HACC for several semesters concentrating on public speaking, Russian, theater, and electronic technology. Worked for the Telephone company now known as Verizon, for 30 years. Traveled around the world to such places as Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Europe, Australia, and several Caribbean islands as well as 50% of the USA. Fostering young talent in speaking, theater, dance, education is number one.

Jessi Burkholder

Jessi Burkholder is an artist, entrepreneur and homeschooling mother. She takes an active role in community engagement through volunteerism. Recent community projects included initiating the annual event Plein Air Painting in New Bloomfield and collaboration on Holiday House Tour of New Bloomfield, both projects supporting the Bloomfield Public Library. In addition, she has overseen the creation of the Visual Arts Exhibit at the Bloomfield Public Library. She has also been involved with Main Street Committee supporting Perry Hometowns and the Perry County Animal Rescue. Inspiring and connecting others to their own creative source is a central theme to her hospitality business. She continues to find her own inspiration in the natural world around her.

Nancy Kraft

Nancy Kraft received an Associate Degree from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She has performed and directed at many Harrisburg area theatres, including Open Stage, Gamut Theatre Group, Little Theatre of Mechanicsburg, and Theatre Harrisburg, among others. Wife, and mother of three.

ABOUT POETRY OUT LOUD

Poetry Out Loud starts at the classroom level, with winners advancing to a school-wide competition, then to a regional and/or state competition, and ultimately to the National Finals. Each winner at the state level receives $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip with an adult chaperone to Washington to compete for the national championship. The state winner’s school receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The first runner-up in each state receives $100, with $200 for his or her school library. A total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends is awarded annually at the National Finals.

Judges for the state and regional finals include performers, poets and cultural and business leaders from across the state. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) sponsors the statewide competition along with its regional partners and arts organizations.

Poetry Out Loud is part of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA)’s ongoing efforts to foster educational excellence for Pennsylvania’s students through participation in the creative process.

Visit the Poetry Out Loud website for more details: www.poetryoutloud.org.

WATCH PCCA'S 2022 VIRTUAL POETRY OUT LOUD
2022 REGIONAL POETRY OUT LOUD WINNER

Jack Strawser, senior at Juniata High School