The State Champion receives a $200 prize and a $500 stipend for their school to purchase poetry books. This year's panel of judges featured Wyoming poets Cady Favazzo, Annelise Wright, and Wyoming Poet Laureate Barbara Smith.
POL encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. Developed by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, POL is a free contest for high-school students (grades 9-12) in both public and private schools and local community organizations.
In addition, the third annual Poetry Ourselves Competition took place on Sunday, March 2, 2025 at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens Orangerie. Poetry Ourselves provides a platform for students to write and recite their own poetry. The winners of the 2025 Poetry Ourselves Original Written Word category are: First place - Briar Markovsky (Buffalo High School) for "Petrichor," Second place - Ashley Olson (Cheyenne East High School) with "Children," and Third place - Zoey Mellor (Cheyenne East High School) for "Death is as Near as Can Be.” The winners of the 2025 Poetry Ourselves Spoken Word category are: First place - Avenlee Downey (Moorcroft Secondary) with “Only Then Will I Feel the Breath Before I Drown,” Second place - Danica Schutt (Moorcroft Secondary School) “I Am,” and Third place - Denna Slater (Lovell High School) for “The Sun and Moon.”
For more information, contact Ismael Dominguez, the Wyoming Arts Council's programs specialist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can also learn more about the Arts Council at wyomingartscouncil.
Figure 1: Alex Brady, 2025 Wyoming Poetry Out Loud State Champion with Governor Mark Gordon at Laramie County Community College on March 3, 2025. Figure 2: 2025 Wyoming Poetry Out Loud State Competitors: Left to right: Evalyn Straub (Fremont County), Alex Brady (Cheyenne), Danica Schutt (Moorcroft), Kadence Aagard (Worland), Shalon Wilkerson (Lovell), and Dovelynn Martinson (Buffalo). Photo Credit: Janelle Rose Photography