Oregon's "Poetry Out Loud" student competition canceled due to COVID-19

(Left to right) Poppy Hendrickson, Cascade Christian High School; Hannah Oberman, Oakland High School; and Tabarjah Neal, Oregon Connections Academy.

SALEM, Ore. – Two local high schoolers will miss out on a national poetry competition due to concerns over the novel coronavirus.

Poetry Out Loud is a nationwide contest where students memorize and present poems while exploring the complexity of poetry.

Poppy Hendrickson from Cascade Christian High School in Medford and Tabarjah Neal from Oregon Connections Academy in Klamath Falls were two of three winners during Medford’s regional competition last Saturday.

The state-level Poetry Out Load competition was supposed to take place on Friday, March 13 in Salem. However, the day before the competition, Oregon Governor Kate Brown ordered that all non-essential school-associated activities should be canceled due to COVID-19.

In accordance with Governor Brown’s direction, the Oregon Arts Commission canceled the 2020 Poetry Out Loud competition in Oregon.

Deb Vaughn, the Arts Commission’s Poetry Out Loud coordinator, said, “Our highest priority is the health and safety of our students and their families.”

There is a possibility the competition can be rescheduled.

“While we are disappointed not to see their presentations, the students who put their energy into this program each have three poems learned by heart, and that is something they can always be proud of,” said Vaughn.