(RED BANK / 2/19/2025): Following New Jersey’s 2024-25 regional Poetry Out Loud competitions, twelve State Finalists have been named who will vie for this year’s title of New Jersey State Champion at Red Bank’s Count Basie Center for the Arts. Regional competitions took place in early February at the Grunin Center for the Arts at Ocean County College, Mayo Performing Arts Center, Passaic County Community College, Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts, Stockton University Performing Arts Center, and South Orange Performing Arts Center.

Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the 55 state and jurisdictional arts agencies.

Congratulations to all the finalists moving on to State Finals:

• Mame Traore from Lincoln High School in Jersey City
• Kelechi Oriaku from Passaic County Technical Institute High School STEM Academy in Wayne
• Evelynn Knox from Henry Hudson Regional High School in Highlands
• Meera Iyer from Morristown Beard School in Morristown
• Michaela Giuliani from Vineland High School in Vineland
• Emilio Galvan from Burlington City High School in Burlington City
• Jake Fredericks from Red Bank Regional High School in Red Bank
• McKenzie Finn from Cedar Creek High School in Egg Harbor City
• Bianca Diez from Morris County School of Technology in Denville
• Ethan Buchanan from Union County Vocational-Technical School Academy for the Performing Arts in Scotch Plains
• Hadassah Broughton from Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Princeton
• Torajah Broadway from Newark Vocational High School in Newark

These finalists will represent their region and compete for the title of State Champion at the New Jersey Poetry Out Loud State Finals at 10 AM on March 12, 2025 at Count Basie Center for the Arts. The State Champion will move on to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals in Washington D.C. to compete against students from across the 55 states and jurisdictional territories.

“The Basie is an incredible partner, and we are eager for them to once again host the State Finals for New Jersey Poetry Out Loud,” said Kevin O’Brien, Chair of the Arts Education Committee of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. “There is something special about Poetry Out Loud. We at the Arts Council believe that watching the 12 State Finalists compete on the historic Basie stage is an event that should not be missed.”

For more information about New Jersey Poetry Out Loud and the State Finals, visit www.njpol.org. To watch a video recap of the State Finals competition and to see past competitions, subscribe to our YouTube Channel.

ABOUT THE COUNT BASIE CENTER FOR THE ARTS 

The Count Basie Center for the Arts is New Jersey’s premier center for the cultural arts, dedicated to fostering powerful, inclusive artistic experiences and creative exchange of ideas. The Basie mission is to inspire, educate and entertain through its distinct and engaging cultural and artistic offerings that embrace and amplify the diversity of the region. As a nonprofit organization, the Basie is committed to enriching the community’s quality of life by generating opportunities for participation in the arts, partnering with schools, and collaborating.

ABOUT THE NEW JERSEY STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, created in 1966, is a division of the NJ Department of State and a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Council was established to encourage and foster public interest in the arts; enlarge public and private resources devoted to the arts; promote freedom of expression in the arts; and facilitate the inclusion of art in every public building in New Jersey. The Council believes the arts are central to every element we value most in a modern society including: human understanding; cultural and civic pride; strong communities; excellent schools; lifelong learning; creative expression; and economic opportunity. To learn more about the Council, please visit www.artscouncil.nj.gov.

ABOUT NEW JERSEY POETRY OUT LOUD

New Jersey Poetry Out Loud is a project of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Count Basie Center for the Arts. Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program, led by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, in partnership with the state and jurisdictional arts agencies across the country. In New Jersey, the State Arts Council and the Basie work with a growing network of regional partners to implement the program statewide.