Alaya Mays of Camas High School and Isaac Lu of Cedar Tree Classical Christian School were the top two finishers of the Southwest Washington Regional Poetry Out Loud contest. Students from seven schools read two poems each in the event held at Educational Service District 112 on January 30. They will advance to the state-wide competition which will be held in Tacoma on Saturday, March 10, 2018.

The Washington State winner will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington D.C. to compete in the national contest in May, where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed.

The participants of the 2018 Regional Poetry Out Loud competition.

The Southwest Washington Regional Poetry Out Loud competition can be viewed on You Tube at:

DVDs of this event can be purchased by contacting Karl Parker at karl.parker@esd112.org.

The regional competition, presented by ESD 112 in partnership with the Washington State Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. Since beginning in 2005, more than 3 million students and 50,000 teachers from 10,000 high schools across the country have participated.