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Delaware student competes in Poetry Out Loud nationals

Mark Arehart/Delaware Public Media
Cecilia Ergueta holds her Delaware Poetry Out Loud trophy.

A Delaware high school student will represent The First State at the National Poetry Out Loud competition in Washington.

Live stream the Poetry Out Loud National Semifinals.

Wilmington Friends School Junior Cecilia Ergueta will recite multiple poems including The Nail by C.K. Williams and Thoughtless Cruelty by Charles Lamb.

She's also reciting The True-Blue American by Delmore Schwartz. "Which is thoroughly whimsical. It’s a comedic satire about American consumerism," Ergueta said. 

She's new to reciting poetry and at first, she didn’t know which poems to read.

"They all come from an anthology that’s published on the website. And they have this random generator there. I just kept pressing new poem, new poem until I found one that I liked."

Of course Ergueta made her choices and ran the gauntlet of school and state competitions to become the Delaware Poetry Out Loud champion.

She’ll compete against the best of the best from across the U.S. and its territories at the national championships April 25.

Delaware Public Media' s arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from theDelaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

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