The tenth annual Poetry Out Loud Regional Finals for area high school students were held last night at the Creamery Arts Center in Springfield.
There were two "firsts" at the poetry recitation finals, where one student is chosen each year to represent southwest Missouri at the Statewide Poetry Out Loud competition in Jefferson City (with takes place in mid-March this year).
One "first" was that there were two "seconds"--a tie for runner-up, second place. This has never happened before in the southwest Missouri Regional Finals. After a quick tie-breaker round the runner-up award, which includes two poetry books, went to Katherine Wartnaby from Joplin High School.
Something else also happened for the first time at the local Poetry Out Loud competition: the field of contestants was all girls this year.
Winning First Place, and the right to go on to the State finals in Jefferson City, was Verniquia Foster of Springfield Central High School.
Poetry Out Loud is a collaboration of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, the Missouri Arts Council and other agencies.