Washoe County student wins second Nevada Poetry Out Loud competition

CARSON CITY, Nevada — Eakjot Sekhon, a junior at Robert McQueen High School in Reno, is the winner of the 2021 Nevada Poetry Out Loud competition, Nevada Arts Council Executive Director Tony Manfredi announced Thursday. Anastasia Chevalier, a junior at Virginia City High School, came in second and Allyson Adamsen, a sophomore at Doral Academy Red Rock in Las Vegas, placed third.

The annual state competition was virtual this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic: students recorded three poetry recitations and uploaded those recordings to an online platform for five judges to review and score. Eakjot, who also won the 2020 Nevada Poetry Out Loud competition, will represent Nevada at the national Poetry Out Loud contest in May. The national competition, also virtual, includes a semifinal round May 2 and the finals on May 27. Both will be video submission-based competitions and will be streamed on arts.gov.

Sekhon wins $200 for placing first in the state competition and $500 for her school.

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.