Congratulations to Lawton High School junior Adylynn Anderson. She won the 2023 State of Oklahoma Poetry Out Loud Competition. She performed three poems: "Edgar Allan Poe Is Reached at the Baltimore Harbor by the Shadows That Pursue Him" by Fernando Valverde, "I Once Was a Child" by Victoria Chang, and "I Remember, I Remember" by Thomas Hood.
Anderson is the seventh state champion from Lawton High in the last fourteen years (Catherine Horton, 2010; Denise Burns, 2012 and 2013 (3rd in the nation); Kristine Guerrero, 2017 and 2018, Keayla Anderson (2019). As a freshman, Anderson finished second in the 2021 competition.
The national competition is at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., May 9-10. Anderson is in Semifinal 2, which may be live-streamed from 1 to 4 PM Eastern Time.
Photo information: From left, Amber Sharples, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Arts Council, Adylynn Anderson, Lawton High School, and Sandy Kent, Executive Director at Oklahoma A+ Schools Institute, pose for a photo after the competition.