Students win $25,000 in prizes in national poetry recitation competition

Vancouver, BC – Nine students from across Canada have received a combined $25,000 in prize money as winners of the 2017 Poetry In Voice competition, now in its seventh year. The successful high school and CEGEP students were selected during the anticipated National Finals event in Vancouver by an esteemed panel of judges including Jordan Abel, Joanne Arnott, Lorna Crozier, Laurent Fadanni, Marie-Andrée Gill, Pierre Nepveu, and Fred Wah.

More than 1,100 schools registered in the contest this year, with over 2 million poems read on Poetry In Voice’s online anthology. Tens of thousands of students learned a poem by heart. The top-scoring students advanced to the Online Semifinals, then the 24 finalists were flown to Vancouver for the final stage of the competition.

“Oral traditions are the foundation of culture. These talented students not only spoke eloquently and confidently in front of a packed audience; they reminded us of the power of spoken word to provoke, inspire, and unite,” said Scott Griffin, founder of Poetry In Voice and The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry.

The nine student winners are:

English Prize Stream

  • Luc Maurer won the first prize of $5,000, and $1,000 for the library of St. George's School in Vancouver, BC (with $500 reserved for the purchase of poetry books) for the best combined score of three recitations in English.
  • Charlotte Egan won the second prize of $1,000, and $500 for the library of Mary, Mother of God School in Toronto, ON for the purchase of poetry books.
  • Chloe Harris won the third prize of $500, and $250 for the library of Montague Regional High School in Montague, PE for the purchase of poetry books.

 

Bilingual Prize Stream

  • Gabrielle Nebrida-Pépin won the first prize of $5,000, and $1,000 for the library of École des Pionniers-de-Maillardville in Port Coquitlam, BC (with $500 reserved for the purchase of poetry books) for the best combined score of one poem in English and one poem in French.
  • Alyssa Howard won the second prize of $1,000, and $500 for the library of Lower Canada College in Montreal, QC for the purchase of poetry books.
  • Ji Thevenard won the third prize of $500, and $250 for the library of Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate & Vocational School in Kitchener, ON for the purchase of poetry books.

 

French Prize Stream

  • Maxime Vallée-Girard won the first prize of $5,000, and $1,000 for the library of Collège Durocher Saint-Lambert in St-Lambert, QC (with $500 reserved for the purchase of poetry books) for the best combined score of three recitations in French.
  • Mireille Proulx won the second prize of $1,000, and $500 for the library of Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf in Montreal, QC for the purchase of poetry books.
  • Jeanne Cantin won the third prize of $500, and $250 for the library of Collège François-de-Laval in Quebec City, QC for the purchase of poetry books.

 

During the two-day National Finals, students met other young poetry lovers and performers from all over Canada, participated in “The Amazing Poetry Race,” during which students recited poetry and completed challenges throughout Vancouver, and attended “Resisting, Surviving, and Embracing: Nationhood and Identity on #Canada150,” a conversation about Canadian and indigenous nationhood – and how those ideas are expressed through poetry – as curated by poet Jordan Abel.

About Poetry In Voice:
Poetry In Voice aims to promote poetry in the classroom and the community. Poetry In Voice is a national recitation competition for secondary school and Collège d’enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEP) students. It serves to engage students in an appreciation of the beauty of language through poetry, while instilling a sense of confidence through the art of public speaking.

 

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