HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts announced that Peachy Lee, a senior at Lancaster Country Day School in Lancaster County, is Pennsylvania’s 2023 Poetry Out Loud state champion.

Lee represented Pennsylvania in the National Finals, which was held this week in Washington, D.C.. She received honorable mention in the semifinals.

The POL state champion receives $200 from the Poetry Foundation and an all-expenses-paid trip to the national championship. The POL state champion’s school receives $500 for the purchase of poetry materials.

At the national finals, a total of $50,000 in awards and school/organizational stipends is awarded annually.

The 13 state POL competitors were among more than 2,995 high school students who participated in this year’s competition, with the help and support of 205 teachers/coaches in 77 schools across Pennsylvania.

Created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, Poetry Out Loud encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. The contest is facilitated through PCA, working with regional partner organizations.

Each student memorized and prepared three poems selected from print and online poetry anthologies. All 13 students performed in the first two rounds of competition, with the top five going on to compete in the third and final round. Students were judged on voice and articulation, physical presence, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding, overall performance and accuracy.

Among the 13 regional competitors who competed in the 2023 POL state championship was Ashlynn McKinney of Huntingdon County, who attends Tyrone Area High School.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, visit https://www.arts.pa.gov or follow PCA on Facebook.