Peddie Student Competes in National Poetry Out Loud Competition

Kavita Oza, a junior at will be representing New Jersey in the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest on Tuesday, April 30 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (Watch her through a live webcast at that time here.)

Oza has continually advanced in this competition that began with 20,000 students and just emerged as one of the top nine in country that will compete in the National Championships Tuesday. She is one of three Regional semi-finals out of 17 winners from the region.

Now in its eighth year, Poetry Out Loud is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation, and implemented by State Arts Councils across the country. The New Jersey State Council on the Arts sponsors NJ Poetry Out Loud and works closely with a network of partners to maximize the impact of the program.

“The Council is extremely proud to support Poetry Out Loud because it challenges our young people to stand and deliver,” said Nick Paleologos, executive director of the NJ State Council on the Arts. “Through the process of making these poems their own, students ask themselves tough questions, find creative answers, and then lay it all out there on stage for the rest of us to behold. Very courageous. Very impressive.”

The winner of the competition may win prizes including college scholarships.