This week the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Georgia Council for the Arts announced the winner of the 2018 Poetry Out Loud state competition. Valyn Turner, a junior at Lanier High School in Sugar Hill, Ga., took home the first place prize at the state finals. Turner will represent Georgia at the national finals in Washington, D.C., April 23-25.

“GCA is deeply committed to the role of the arts in education and we are proud to partner with both the NEA and the Atlanta History Center to create access to Poetry Out Loud for Georgia’s high school students,” said Karen Paty, executive director of Georgia Council for the Arts. “POL not only introduces students to exceptional works of poetry but also builds public speaking skills, fosters an ability to interpret text and builds confidence – each of which is critical for future success.”

Poetry Out Loud is a national program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation which encourages high school students to learn about poetry through memorization and recitation of the written word. Georgia’s Poetry Out Loud champion receives $200 from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her school will also be presented with a $500 certificate that will go toward new books. The Poetry Out Loud runner-up, Nahla Shepard, a senior at Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Ga., receives $100 from the NEA, and $200 for new books for her school.

“Poetry Out Loud is this beautifully rich learning experience that is completely unique to itself,” said Turner. “Every single state competitor added such gorgeous life to the literature they shared, which made the competition so much more fun than it was nerve-racking. Getting to represent Georgia at Nationals is the hugest surprise and the hugest honor and I absolutely cannot wait for next month.”

Started in 2005 as a pilot program in Chicago and Washington, D.C., Poetry Out Loud has grown to involve millions of students from across the country.

This is the tenth year that Atlanta History Center’s Margaret Mitchell House has been selected by Georgia Council for the Arts to coordinate the state’s Poetry Out Loud competition. Georgia’s participation included:

• 73 schools in 32 counties

• Over 6,500 students

• More than 330 teachers

“Poetry Out Loud is an essential part of the Atlanta History Center’s mission of being a part of the community and exposing it to the world of the arts,” said Emily Cobb, Poetry Out Loud state coordinator at the Atlanta History Center. “POL is a great vehicle to help educators bring poetry into the classroom, while also making it fun for the students.  The AHC strives to do the same thing with history; make it fun and educational.”