The Arts Council for Monterey County announced the winner of the 2025 Monterey County Poetry Out Loud competition, which took place in the Marina Branch Library community room on Feb. 1.
First place went to CJ Winter from York School, who now advances to the state-level Poetry Out Loud competition on March 16 and 17.
“I spent a lot of time practicing with my teachers, and the majority of my free periods were spent refining my poems, so I feel like that hard work really paid off,” Winter said in a press release. “I’m grateful to my teachers for helping me to refine that.”
The second place awardee is Ignacio Mendez, Jr. from Alisal High School; third place went to Liliana Papandreopoulos from Pacific Grove High School.
Within the program, students read poems from a collection of more than 1,200 works and master the out-loud delivery to the gathered audience. The best interpretation wins. During the competition, students recite poems and the judges evaluate each performance based on voice clarity, articulation, accuracy and the depth of understanding demonstrated.
The champion was awarded $150, while the second and third-place winners received $100 and $50, respectively. The next competition will open in the fall 2025.
To learn how to get involved this upcoming season, visit arts4mc.org, capoetryoutloud.org and/or poetryoutloud.org.