(TOMS RIVER, NJ) -- Joseph G. Kim Sexton, a student from Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School in Jersey City, was named State Champion at the 2019 New Jersey Poetry Out Loud (NJ POL) State Finals competition, part of the national poetry recitation program. The state finals took place Tuesday, March 12 at The Grunin Center for the Arts at Ocean County College. Joseph will now move on to represent New Jersey at the national finals in Washington, DC to compete against champions from every state and territory, all vying for the national title and the chance to win prizes including college scholarships.
POL is a national poetry recitation program through which students learn to perform great works of classical and contemporary poetry. The State Finals is the culmination of a statewide contest that began in the fall and included nearly 22,000 New Jersey students from over 150 high schools. Students competed first at the classroom and school level, and then at the regional level to determine the 12 finalists who would move on to Tuesday's competition.
Monica Howze, from Payne Technical High School in Newark, earned the title of State Runner-Up. Following is a list of the 12 student finalists: ErinKimber Cunnane, Cinnaminson High School; Emily Farrell, Woodstown High School; Monica Howze, Payne Technical High School (Newark); Yawar Khan, Atlantic City High School; Joseph G. Kim Sexton, Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic (Jersey City); Derek Lattmann, Delbarton School (Morristown); Gloria Liu, Livingston High School; Nathan Magno, Ocean County Vocational Technical - Performing Arts Academy (Lakehurst); Erin Matthews, Wayne Valley High School; Lily Pena, Red Bank Regional High School (Little Silver); Alyssa Romano, Villa Victoria Academy (Ewing); and Vinitha Vivek, Hillsborough High School.
New Jersey Poetry Out Loud is a project of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, in collaboration with Mayo Performing Arts Center, and ArtPride New Jersey Foundation. The project was originally founded as a co-sponsored program with Writers Theatre of NJ. Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Poetry Foundation, and the state arts agencies of the United States. The program is administered with a host of regional partners including the Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs, Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts, South Orange Performing Arts Center, Count Basie Theatre, Appel Farm Arts & Music Center, and CavanKerry Press.
PHOTO: NJPOL State Champion Joseph G. Kim Sexton (R) and State Runner-Up Monica Howze
