From a competitive field of 12 Delaware high school students, Samuel McGarvey, a sophomore from Tall Oaks Classical School, earned the title of 2018 Poetry Out Loud Delaware State Champion at the state finals held in Dover, Del. on Feb. 27. The first runner-up was Dounya Ramadan from Newark Charter Jr./Sr. High School and the second runner-up was Richard Matthews from Dover High School.

McGarvey’s final recitation, I Remember, I Remember by Thomas Hood, earned him high marks with the judges. The full poem can be found on the Poetry Foundation’s website.

For his winning presentation, McGarvey will receive $200 and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington with a chaperone to compete at the national championship on April 23-25. Tall Oaks Classical School will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry materials. Dounya Ramadan, the first runner-up will receive $100, and Newark Charter Jr./Sr. High School will receive $200 for its school library.

The Poetry Out Loud state competition, sponsored by the Delaware Division of the Arts in partnership with 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.

For additional Hi-Res, print-ready images, please contact the Division. Photos from Governor meeting on Flickr.

2018 Poetry Out Loud – Participating Students and High Schools

Delaware State Competition, Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 7:00 p.m., Dover High School, Dover, Delaware

Caravel Academy Concord High School Dover High School Hodgson Vo-Tech High School Laurel High School Middletown High School

Milford Senior High School Newark Charter Jr./Sr. High School Tall Oaks Classical School Ursuline Academy Wilmington Christian School Wilmington Friends School

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