McQueen student to represent Nevada in national poetry competition May 2

CARSON CITY, Nevada — Eakjot Sekhon, a junior at Robert McQueen High School in Reno, will represent Nevada at the virtual Poetry Out Loud national semifinals May 2. Viewers can watch Sekhon compete in the Region Three section, which will be live streamed at 3 p.m. on the arts.gov/poetry-out-loud website. Nine finalists from the regional competitions will proceed to the virtual national finals, which carries a $20,000 prize, on May 27.

“We are proud of Eakjot, who has participated in Poetry Out Loud for the past two years, and wish her the best in this prestigious competition,” Nevada Arts Council Executive Director Tony Manfredi said. “We encourage all Nevada high school students to get involved with this inspiring program, which introduces the art of poetry to a young audience.”

Sekhon and 54 other semifinalists pre-recorded poetry recitation videos for the national semifinals, which will be judged in three regional sections. Sekhon competes in Region Three, which includes 19 students from the upper Northwest and West. All pre-recorded recitation videos will stream on May 2.

A dynamic educational program, Poetry Out Loud begins at the local level as high school students learn about, memorize and finally present poetry – out loud. Participants advance from school to district competitions and then to the Nevada State Finals. Next year’s competition will begin Sept. 1. Interested students and teachers may visit the Nevada Arts Council web page on the program here.

Nevada Poetry Out Loud is a program of the Nevada Arts Council in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.

EDITORS: Attached please find a photo of Eakjot Sekhon here.

The Nevada Arts Council is part of the Nevada Division of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. Its mission is to enrich the cultural life of the state through leadership that preserves, supports, strengthens and makes excellence in the arts accessible to all Nevadans.