POLYTECH High School junior Hannah Sturgis is heading to Washington D.C. this Monday and Tuesday for the Poetry Out Loud National Finals.
The 17-year-old became the Poetry Out Loud Delaware state champion for the second straight year this past February.
Sturgis first discovered her love of poetry by reading Shakespeare in grade school. She feels that poetry can mean different things to different people.
“I think that there are so many preconceived notions about what poetry is supposed to be. And I think more and more, in the poetry world, we’re discovering that poetry is whatever you want it to be. And that’s what’s exciting about it,” Sturgis said.
Sturgis has prepared three poems for the competition: “El Olvido,” “Blackberrying,” and “Infelix." She says each poem paints a picture about life.
Sturgis will read two poems in the first round of the competition and one more if she progresses to the final round.
There are no original poems in the competition. The contest was designed to get students reading classic poetry out loud in the classroom.
The national Poetry Out Loud champion wins a $20,000 college scholarship.
This piece is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
