Two Franklin students are headed to a state competition for their precision in reciting poetry.
Thaddeus Bergschneider and Cole Delaney recently earned first and second place in the Central Illinois Poetry Out Loud Contest held at the Hoogland Center for the Arts on Thursday afternoon. Bergschneider’s winning recitation was of “I Am Offering this Poem” by Jimmy Santiago Baca.
Bergschneider and Delaney will advance to the virtual Illinois State Contest in March. The Illinois State Contest will feature recitations by two students from each Poetry Out Loud region in the state. The Illinois State champion will advance to the national contest.
973 students and 17 teachers in 6 schools began the 2022 Poetry Out Loud season in Central Illinois last Fall. One of the recitation judges for the competition was Matt Schwartz of Jacksonville.
Poetry Out Loud in Illinois is a collaborative project of the Illinois Arts Council Agency and seven agencies, each of which hosts a regional contest. The Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest is a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through analysis, memorization, performance, and competition. The National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation, in conjunction with state arts agencies, support this nation-wide program with participants from all fifty states plus Guam, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.