Javontae Cranmo, a student at Beechwood High School, has won the Kentucky Poetry Out Loud championship, which is put on by the Kentucky Arts Council. Cranmo will now advance to the national championships in Washington, D.C., from May 5 to 7.
To compete, students must recite and perform two poems in two rounds from an approved anthology.
Finalists then move on to a third round of recitations. For his final round, Cranmo performed “I Am the People, the Mob” by Carl Sandburg. This is Cranmo’s first year participating in the competition.
“This event celebrates poetry and growth — both personal and academic,” said Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman in a Kentucky Arts Council press release. “By preparing for this competition, students have developed skills that will serve them far beyond today’s event. Whether they’re engaging with colleagues, delivering a pitch or advocating for a cause, the skills honed through Poetry Out Loud position these students for success. Congratulations on this year’s winner; we are confident that he will represent Team Kentucky with excellence in the national finals.”
“We are so happy to see interest in poetry and recitation from high school students in the commonwealth,” said Chris Cathers, executive director of the Kentucky Arts Council in the same release. “Each year, we are impressed with the high caliber performance from across the state and this year’s talent was phenomenal.”
Cranmo plans to attend the University of Tampa in the fall after graduating, where he will double major in English and philosophy with the hope of eventually going to law school.
