Dallas Student Places 2nd at 'Poetry Out Loud'

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A Paulding County High School senior placed second in the 2015 Poetry Out Loud championship, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.

Paris J. Stroud, of Dallas, placed second with her reading of “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats

• Click here to see Stroud’s reading

Thee competition was won by Maeva Ordaz, a senior at West Anchorage High School in Anchorage, Alaska. Ordaz won the final round with a reading of “Zacuanpapalotls,” by Brenda Cárdenas.

Students and schools received $50,000 in awards and school stipends at the National Finals, including $20,000 for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion, and $10,000 and $5,000 for the second- and third-place finalists. The fourth- to ninth-place finalists each received $1,000. The schools of the top nine finalists received $500 for the purchase of poetry books.

High school teachers who want to learn how to get involved in next year’s program can visit www.poetryoutloud.org.

(Photo: Paris J. Stroud, arts.gov)