Earlier this month, Albemarle High School senior, Katharina Ravichandran, competed and won the state title as Virginia’s 2022 Poetry Out Loud champion. VPM presented the competition, Poetry Out Loud: The Virginia Finals, in partnership with the Virginia Commission for the Arts. Richmond’s first poet laureate, Roscoe Burnems, hosted the in-person event from VPM’s studio.
VPM broadcasted the 2022 competition this past Sunday and will replay the one-and-a-half-hour program Thursday, March 31 at 9 PM on VPM PBS PLUS.
https://youtu.be/5X6wYV-nzCM
This year’s Poetry Out Loud championship featured twelve students from across the Commonwealth who competed for top honors and the opportunity to represent Virginia at the national championships. Semi-finals for the national title will be held on May 1 with the top nine finalists competing on June 5. Both events will be held virtually and will stream live at arts.gov.
As winner, Ravichandran received a $200 cash prize, a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books at her school, and an opportunity to compete for the top prize of $20,000 in the National Finals. First runner up, Isaiah Riddle, a senior at Grace Christian School in Staunton, received a $100 cash prize and a $200 stipend for his school.
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation sponsors Poetry Out Loud as a means of immersing high school students in the powerful language of poetry. The program provides students an opportunity to master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage through classical and contemporary works of poetry.
In addition to watching Poetry Out Loud: The Virginia Finals on VPM PBS PLUS, viewers may stream it anytime on PBS Passport and on the VPM YouTube channel.
