Just think of it as The Sixth Annual State of Wyoming Poetry Bee

You're invited to the state finals of the Wyoming Poetry Out Loud competition at 7 p.m. this evening at the Historic Atlas Theatre in downtown Cheyenne. The event is free and open to the public. It's sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council, the Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Competing will be 13 students in grades 9-12 from schools around the state:

Bryce McKenzie – Buffalo

Eddie Collins – Dubois

Jon Adams – Cheyenne East HS

Pheonix Hardin – Laramie 

Hannah Hout – Casper

Alicia Juanita Sanchez – Ft. Washakie

Alyssa Prado – Cheyenne South HS

Tyler Clementson – Shoshoni

Sara Ellingrod – Arvada/Clearmont

Raena Bush – Sundance

Marco Dominguez – Kaycee

Maddison Nielsen – Jackson

Izzy Jack – Cheyenne Central HS 

The students will compete in three rounds of poetry recitation. Judges are M.L. Liebler, a performance poet from Detroit; Max Maxfield, Wyoming Secretary of State; and Sophia Puccini, dancer and poet from Saratoga. 

The winner will go to Washington, D.C. on an all-expenses-paid trip to compete at the national level, with 52 other contestants. The state winner also receives $200 and the winner’s school, $500 for the purchase of poetry books. The state runner-up receives $100 and their school, $200 for the purchase of poetry books.

P.S.: You could consider this a warm-up for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee which opens March 18 at the Atlas. Get more info at http://www.cheyennelittletheatre.org.