ALABAMA (WRBL) — An Auburn High School student deemed the 2023 Alabama Poetry Out Loud champion will move onto the semifinals in DC next month.

11th-grade-student Emily Biaz is competing on May 9 at 1 p.m. (EST). Nine students from the semi-finals will move onto the finals.

At the finals, $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed, including a $20,000 prize to the winner.

“We are excited to welcome these students to Washington, DC, and look forward to witnessing their command of poetic expression as they share their recitations with us,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson. “Poetry Out Loud gives them the unique opportunity to reflect on their connection to the poems they select to memorize while also bolstering their confidence and public communication skills.”

For more information, visit https://www.poetryoutloud.org/.