「大聲吟詩」20週年 Alina Sha、Iris Zhao分獲麻州分區賽二、三名

THE HUNTINGTON EDUCATION DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF POETRY OUT LOUD MASSACHUSETTS

Nationwide Poetry Out Loud competition celebrates its 20^th year in Massachusetts

2025 POL MA top three poets – Iris Zhao, Abigail Drumm,
Ailin Sha (Photo by David Marshall)

 (BOSTON) – The Huntington Education Department celebrates the nation’s largest chapter of the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest. The Massachusetts chapter is run locally by The Huntington in partnership with the Mass Cultural Council and nationwide by The Poetry Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts. Poetry Out Loud, now in its 20th anniversary year, held the Massachusetts state finals at the Old South Meeting House this past Sunday, March 16, 2025. Abigail Drumm, a Senior from Agawam High School is the 2025 Poetry Out Loud Massachusetts State Champion and has won an all expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete at Nationals. The 2^nd place poet is Ailin Sha who is a Senior from Boston Latin School. The 3^rd place poet is Iris Zhao who is a Junior from Mystic Valley Regional Charter School.

 

Powered by The Huntington on the community level and nurtured at the state-level through Mass Cultural Council (and further bolstered by Governor Maura Healey’s recent executive order creating a poet laureate position in Massachusetts for the first time in the state’s history), Massachusetts continues to shine in its commitment to beautiful language and powerful art.

 

With over 17,000 students participating in Poetry Out Loud this year, The Huntington Education Department continues to bring theatre and poetry – and the skills and inspiration those arts foster – into young people’s lives. Theatre education and performance opportunities can build prosocial behavior in students, encourage empathy, improve public speaking skills, and develop both creative and critical thinking. By championing theatre and poetry education, The Huntington team is proud to ensure that the next generation not only amplifies its voice but also shapes the cultural and artistic legacy of our time.

 

“This is such a thrilling season for Poetry Out Loud Massachusetts, we have been anticipating its 20^th Anniversary for quite some time now,” says Huntington Director of Education Meg O’Brien. “Over the course of two decades, we’ve seen countless examples of how vital this program is to the students who experience it. The impact and importance of programs like Poetry Out Loud cannot be understated. Students from all walks of life find something to love about this program, whether it’s their poem, the friends they make along the way, or the chance to compete for the title of State Champion and represent their state at Nationals. We are awestruck and very proud to be the largest Poetry Out Loud chapter in the country this year for both number of students and teachers participating. We are also third in the nation for the number of schools participating. I know our program will continue to grow and we are excited to see what POL will bring to Massachusetts in the next five, ten, and twenty years.”

 

“Massachusetts is a celebrated hub of arts, culture, history, creativity, and innovation,” said Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director, Mass Cultural Council. “For two decades, Poetry Out Loud Massachusetts has used language and creativity to inspire young people to tell stories, evoke emotion, and use what they learn as inspiration for new ideas. We are thrilled to honor this partnership and this program in its 20^th year.”

 

One of the most extensive and admired programs in the country, The Huntington Education Department serves more than 30,000 students, teachers, and community organizations each year with student matinees, Huntington Academy, Poetry Out Loud Massachusetts, in-school residency programs, True Colors’ Next Narrative Monologue Competition, and more. Collaborators in this work include Boston Public Schools, Codman Academy Charter Public School, the National Endowment for the Arts, Mass Cultural Council, and many community organizations.

ABOUT POETRY OUT LOUD

 

Poetry Out Loud is a national recitation contest that celebrates the power of the spoken word and a mastery of public speaking skills while cultivating self-confidence and an appreciation of students’ literary heritage as they take poetry from the page to the stage. Poetry Out Loud has inspired hundreds of thousands of high school students to discover and appreciate both classic and contemporary poetry. Several students who have come up through The Huntington’s education program have gone on to rank in the top nine students in the national competition.

 

“Poetry Out Loud helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage,” says the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation. “By encouraging students to study, memorize, and perform some of the most influential and timeless poems of the English language, you immerse them in powerful expression and provocative ideas.”

 

Regional semi-finals were held on March 8-10, 2025 in multiple locations across The Commonwealth. Massachusetts State Champions have been top 9 National Finalists in 2008, 2011, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

 

The 2025 state finalists in Poetry Out Loud Massachusetts are:

 

1. Abigail Drumm, Agawam High School
2. Ailin Sha, Boston Latin School
3. Mirabel Han, The Commonwealth School
4. Zara Norris, Dennis Yarmouth Regional High School
5. Jason Yang, Lexington High School
6. Noah Eaton, Longmeadow High School
7. Thomas Conti, Malden High School
8. Hannah Haseltine, Melrose High School
9. Iris Zhao, Mystic Valley Regional Charter School
10. Mia Brillantes, The Newman School
11. Adriana Mendes, Norwell High School
12. Madigan Chubb, Plymouth South High School
13. Katharine Maynard-DaSilva, Rockland High School
14. Breanna Prindle, Sandwich Middle High School
15. Rohan Ghatge St. Sebastian's School

The schools and organizations that participated in Poetry Out Loud Massachusetts 2025 are:

 

1. Agawam High School, Agawam

2. Algonquin Regional High School, Northborough

3. Avon Middle High School, Avon

4. Barnstable High School, Barnstable

5. Boston Latin School, Boston

6. Bourne High School, Bourne

7. Brookline High School, Brookline 

8. Burlington High School, Burlington

9. CATS Academy Boston, Braintree

10. Charlestown High School, Charlestown

11. Chelsea High School, Chelsea 

12. Codman Academy Charter Public School, Boston

13. Commonwealth School, The, Boston

14. Community Through Theater, Boston 

15. Concord Carlisle Regional High School, Concord

16. Dartmouth High School, Dartmouth

17. Dennis Yarmouth Regional High School, South Yarmouth

18. Dexter Southfield School, Brookline

19. Dracut High School, Dracut

20. Falmouth High School, Falmouth 

21. Foxborough Regional Charter School, Foxborough

22. Framingham High School, Framingham

23. Franklin High School, Franklin

24. Groton School, Groton

25. Hampden Charter School of Science, Chicopee

26. Haverhill High School, Haverhill

27. Hopkinton Center for the Arts, Hopkinton 

28. Hull High School, Hull

29. International School of Boston, Cambridge

30. John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science, Boston

31. Lexington High School, Lexington

32. LightHouse Holyoke, Holyoke

33. Longmeadow High School, Longmeadow

34. Malden High School, Malden

35. Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, Oak Bluffs

36. Masconomet Regional High School, Boxford

37. Melrose High School, Melrose

38. Meridian Academy, Boston

39. Methuen High School, Methuen

40. Milton Academy, Milton

41. Minnechaug Regional High School, Wilbraham

42. Montrose School, Medfield

43. Mystic Valley Regional Charter School, Malden

44. Nantucket High School, Nantucket

45. Natick High School, Natick

46. Needham High School, Needham

47.  New Heights Charter School, Brockton

48. Newburyport High School, Newburyport

49. Newman School, The, Boston

50. NorthShore Youth Spoken Word, Lynn 

51. Norwell High School, Norwell

52. Plymouth North High School, Plymouth

53. Plymouth South High School, Plymouth

54. Rockland High School, Rockland

55. Roxbury Prep High School, Boston

56. Salem Academy Charter School, Salem

57. Sandwich Middle High School, Sandwich

58. South Hadley High School, South Hadley

59. South Shore Charter Public School, Norwell

60. Springfield Central High School, Springfield

61. St. Sebastian’s School, Needham

62. Stoneham High School, Stoneham

63. Tewksbury Memorial High School, Tewksbury

64. Whitman Hanson Regional High School, Whitman

65. Wilbraham and Monson Academy, Wilbraham