Eleven Oregon high schoolers from across the Beaver State have advanced to the Poetry Out Loud State Contest, with South Medford High School’s Kaydence Pope among the finalists.

The event is a recitation contest for high schoolers to memorize and present poems and explore the nuances of poetry while practicing their public performance skills.

“The student performances are inspiring and heartfelt every year. It’s exciting to see which poems they choose and the judges did a wonderful job of selecting the group of finalists who will be moving on to the state competition,” said Tiff Harker, arts education and Poetry Out Loud Coordinator for the Oregon Arts Commission.

The contest — organized by the Oregon Arts Commission in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation — is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. March 8, at Salem’s Historic Grand Theatre and will feature a presentation by Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston.

It is free to attend and open to the public.

The champion for Oregon will go on to compete in the Poetry Out Loud National Finals scheduled for May 5-7 in Washington D.C.

Aside from South Medford High’s Pope, other advancing contestants include: Senna Alnasser of Oregon Charter Academy, Gio Calandrella of Grant High School, Gloria Flores Estrada of Oregon School for the Deaf, Josiah Gaither of St. Stephen’s Academy, Benjamin Miranda of West Linn High School, Arianna Morris of Redmond High School, Sophie Roberts of St. Stephen’s Academy, Bena Rodecap of Grant High School, Madeline Torres of Lakeridge High School and Dulce Wiles of Oregon Charter Academy.

For more information on Poetry Out Loud, visit poetryoutloud.org.