State and National Finals
Nine high school students from across the nation are vying for the title of 2022 Poetry Out Loud™ National Champion and the $20,000 prize as part of an annual poetry recitation competition from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation. The 2022 competition will culminate on Sunday, June 5, 2022, with a one-time-only webcast available on the NEA’s website at Arts.gov/Poetry-Out-Loud beginning at 7:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM CT / 4:00 PM PT. Poet, publisher, and New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander will host the virtual event that will include poetry recitations by each of the finalists and the announcement of the National Champion.
On May 1st, 55 state and jurisdictional Poetry Out Loud champions competed in one of three national semifinals; nine of those students are now advancing to the June 5th finals:
- Arizona Champion Oscar Manuel Landa Samano (Coconino High School)
- California Champion Mia Ronn (The Archer School for Girls)
- Colorado Champion Aidyn Lorin Jai Reid (Fountain Valley School of Colorado)
- Louisiana Champion Jacob Simmons (Covington High School)
- Nebraska Champion Alexandra Rose Zaleski (V.J. and Angela Skutt Catholic High School)
- New York Champion Pamela White (Bethlehem Central High School)
- North Carolina Champion Gabriella Burwell (Knightdale High School)
- Pennsylvania Champion Mario Grugan (Tyrone Area High School)
- Tennessee Champion Kendall Grimes (Battle Ground Academy)
The 2022 national finals judges are: Francisco Aragón, Candice Iloh, Rosa Joshi, Dante Medema, Joan Naviyuk Kane, and Marcus Wicker. For bios for the judges and more information on the 55 Poetry Out Loud state and jurisdictional champions, download the 2022 Poetry Out Loud program book.
There was one honorable mention recipient announced on May 1 in each of three national semifinals competitions—Niveah Glover (Florida), Eakjot Kaur Sekhon (Nevada), and Morgan Sprouse (West Virginia). Those students do not advance to the June 5 finals, but will each receive a $1,000 cash award and a $500 stipend for their school or organization.
The Poetry Out Loud national finals are administered by Mid Atlantic Arts. Closed captioning in English and Spanish and American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be provided for the Poetry Out Loud national finals.
Join the conversation on Twitter and Instagram using #POL22 and #IAmPoetryOutLoud and follow the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation at @PoetryOutLoud, @NEAArts, and @PoetryFound.
State Finals
Find your state’s Poetry Out Loud coordinator here.
| State/Territory | Date | Winner & School/Org |
| Alabama | Feb 21 | Abigail Kulkarni, James Clemons HS |
| Alaska | Mar 11 | Nikolai Chavez, Whitestone HS |
| American Samoa | Mar 11 | Audrey Rose Sevaaetasi, Samoana HS |
| Arizona | Mar 15 | Oscar Landa Samano, Coconino HS |
| Arkansas | Mar 12 | Lia Lawson, Wonderview HS |
| California | Mar 16 | Mia Ronn, The Archer School for Girls |
| Colorado | Mar 2 | Aidyn Reid, Fountain Valley School |
| Connecticut | Mar 5 | William Stammer, Weston HS |
| Delaware | Mar 10 | Natalie Kim Ramos, St. Mark’s HS |
| District of Columbia | Mar 12 | Warwick Lloyd, St. Anselm’s Abbey School |
| Florida | Mar 5 | Niveah Glover, Jacksonville Arts & Music School |
| Georgia | Mar 13 | Amaya McGee, DeKalb School of the Arts |
| Guam | Mar 11 | Zekiya Mapilisan, Okkodo HS |
| Hawaii | Mar 9 | Tasha Kanoa, Mid-Pacific School of the Arts |
| Idaho | Mar 12 | Seth Hill, Classical Christian Academy |
| Illinois | Mar 7 | Cole Delaney, Franklin HS |
| Indiana | Mar 9 | Lila Ward, Columbia City HS, Eagle Tech Academy |
| Iowa | Mar 6 | Landon Stanley, Marshalltown HS |
| Kansas | Mar 5 | Allie Cloyd, Manhattan HS |
| Kentucky | Mar 1 | Lupita Diaz, Beechwood HS |
| Louisiana | Mar 12 | Jacob Simmons, Covington HS |
| Maine | Mar 7 | Sofia Lantratova, George Stevens Academy |
| Maryland | Mar 10 | Harrison Lynch, The King’s Christian Academy |
| Massachusetts | Mar 13 | Ava Beringer, Masconomet Regional HS |
| Michigan | Mar 3-4 | Gabriel Blaikie, Interlochen Arts Academy |
| Minnesota | Feb 28 | Stella Wright, Armstrong HS |
| Mississippi | Mar 3 | Noble Wilkinson, Jackson Preparatory School |
| Missouri | Mar 10 | Ava Maupin, School of the Osage HS |
| Montana | Mar 5 | Rachel Campbell, Chrysalis School |
| Nebraska | Mar 11 | Alexandra Rose Zaleski, Skutt Catholic HS |
| Nevada | Mar 8 | Eakjot Sekhon, Robert McQueen HS |
| New Hampshire | Mar 11 | Emily Matos, Kingswood Regional HS |
| New Jersey | Mar 2 | Italy Whitehead, Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy |
| New Mexico | Mar 6 | Analisa Iberra, La Cueva HS |
| New York | Mar 12 | Pamela White, Bethlehem Central HS |
| North Carolina | Feb 26 | Gabriella Burwell, Knightdale HS |
| North Dakota | Feb 28 | Mya Tena, Bismarck HS |
| Ohio | Mar 4 | Pius Edzie, St Francis De Sales HS |
| Oklahoma | Mar 8 | Ashlyn Sears, Bethany HS |
| Oregon | Mar 11 | Trayshun Holmes-Gournaris, Oregon School for the Deaf |
| Pennsylvania | Mar 14 | Mario Grugan, Tyrone Area HS |
| Puerto Rico | Mar 11 | Victoria Monteagudo-Santos, TASIS |
| Rhode Island | Mar 6 | Mariama Bandabaila, Classical HS |
| South Carolina | Mar 5 | Emily Allison, Fine Arts Center of Greenville |
| South Dakota | Mar 14 | Hannah Dayaget, Washington HS |
| Tennessee | Mar 4-5 | Kendall Grimes, Battleground Academy |
| Texas | Mar 10 | Ava Shipp, The Hockaday School |
| Utah | Mar 9 | Aeva Dye, Dixie HS |
| Vermont | Mar 14 | Gianna Morin, South Burlington Union HS |
| Virgin Islands | Mar 12 | Makeda-Elizabeth Cabey, All Saints Cathedral School |
| Virginia | Mar 11 | Katharina Ravichandran, Albermarle HS |
| Washington | Mar 12 | Lucy Shainin, Anacortes HS |
| West Virginia | Mar 11-12 | Morgan Sprouse, Bridgeport HS |
| Wisconsin | Mar 5 | Jess Davis, Altoona HS |
| Wyoming | Mar 7 | Bailee Vargas, Freemont County Homeschool Group |