The San Benito County Arts Council invites the community to attend Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry recitation contest happening on Thursday, Feb. 8th, 6pm at our Art Depot, 35 5th Street located in the historic train depot in downtown Hollister.
This competition, presented in partnership with Hollister High School, Anzar High School, and the San Benito County Office of Education, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry –both classic and contemporary- through memorization, performance, and competition.
Since 2005, Poetry Out Loud has reached more than 3.8 million students and 60,000 teachers from 16,000 schools nationwide. This January, Poetry Out Loud will take place in San Benito County for the tenth time with support from the California Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation.
Attend this year’s competition and watch local high school students compete in the San Benito County Finals. The winner of this competition a $500 cash prize and will advance to the California State Poetry Out Loud contest in Sacramento in March. The California State champion will advance to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals in Washington, DC, where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed.
Attendance is free and open to the public, although seating is limited. For further information or to find out how to get involved, please contact the San Benito County Arts Council at 831.636.2787 or amandchiado@gmail.com
*Congratulations to our 2024 Poetry Out Loud county champion, Megan Current, 12th grader at Hollister High School; first runner-up, Aditi Dantuluri, Hollister High School; and second runner-up, Jaden Romero, Anzar High School.
We’d also like to thank our event judges, Semeia Mitchell, Enrique Luna, Louise Roy, Tony Balbas and lead teachers, Adrienne Smith of Anzar High School, and Amber Kearns of Hollister High School.