Poetry Out Loud semi-finals in Meredith this March

CONCORD — The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts has finalized the schedule for the state’s four Poetry Out Loud semi-final competitions.

The Winnipesaukee Playhouse in Meredith will host a semi-final competition on Monday, March 2, at 6 p.m. Other semi-final contests are taking place at New England College in Henniker on Wednesday, March 4, and Currier Museum of Art in Manchester on Thursday, March 5.

High school champions from 40 schools and groups will compete to advance to the state championship at Representatives Hall at the State House on March 13. More than 9,000 students participated in the program, which starts at the classroom level and advances to school-wide competitions before regional semi-finals and state finals. The state champion will advance to the national finals in Washington, D.C. in April.

Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. In New Hampshire it is led by the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. Other state supporters include the New Hampshire Learning Initiative, the Putnam Foundation, Brightspot Consultants, New Hampshire Public Radio, the Poetry Society of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Writers Project, Slam Free or Die, the Frost Place and Granite State Ambassadors.

To learn more, and for competition snow dates, visit nh.gov/nharts.