For immediate release — 11 am EDT, March 22, 2024
MONTREAL, QC – Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie is thrilled to unveil the nine national finalists of its prestigious senior poetry recitation contest, alongside the sixteen talented students chosen for FutureVerse.
OVER 20,000 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS!
In an impressive showcase of talent, over 20,000 high school students nationwide engaged in the challenge, reciting poems by heart from the Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie online anthology. Students from grades 10–12 vied for top honors in the Senior Online Qualifiers across English, French, or Bilingual categories.
$25,000 IN PRIZES!
The Canada-wide competition saw 24 standout students advance to the semifinals, judged by an esteemed panel of poets, with each semi-finalist awarded $250. The upcoming National Finals promise nearly $25,000 in prizes for the victors.
NATIONAL FINALS
Meet our 2024 nine National Finalists!
English Stream
- Daniela Damier Ducreux from Collège Jean-Eudes, Montréal, QC
- James Hoag from Prince of Wales Secondary School, Vancouver, BC
- Emiliia Lebedeva from Webber Academy, Calgary, AB
French Stream
- Cynthia Li from Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, Montréal, QC
- Leïla Malo from Collège Jean-Eudes, Montréal, QC
- Sara-Joelle Yao from École Alexandre-Taché, St-Albert, AB
Bilingual Stream
- Maia Cassie from Queen Margaret's School, Duncan, BC
- Bem Denga from Webber Academy, Calgary, AB
- Chloé Simard from Champlain Regional College – Saint-Lambert, Saint-Lambert, QC
These nine finalists will showcase their talents live at the National Arts Centre on April 24th, with the event also available for streaming on the Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie website.
THE JUDGES
A distinguished panel of six judges will preside over the National Finals in Ottawa.
The English recitations will be evaluated by:
The French recitations will be judged by:
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
The People’s Choice Award saw over 4,500 votes cast on our website for the favorite recitations among the 24 semi-finalists.
Congratulations to the winners of the People's Choice Award:
- Katie Clark from Bishop Carroll High School, Calgary, AB for their outstanding English recitation of “Common Magic” by Bronwen Wallace , and
- Luca Fraillon from Collège international Marie de France, Montreal, QC for their exceptional French recitation of “Je vis, je meurs” by Louise Labé
Each winner has been awarded an additional $500. Their winning performances, along with all semi-finalist recitations, can be viewed by clicking on the links above.
FUTUREVERSE
Concurrently with the National Finals in Ottawa, FutureVerse will nurture emerging young writers in a four-day, all-expenses-paid poetry intensive. Participants will engage in workshops, panels, readings, and activities led by renowned authors, publishers, and activists.
For a glimpse into the FutureVerse schedule and this year's participants, visit our website. Selection was based on an application and poetry assessment or submissions of original poems to VOICES/VOIX, our student poetry journal, or responses to the Voices/Voix Monthly Prize, our monthly contest. Click on each participant’s name to read one of their poems and learn more about them.
2024 FUTUREVERSE PARTICIPANTS
- Marie-Pauline Chaffanjon from Lycée Français de Toronto, Toronto, ON
- Juliette Comtois from Collège Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Longueuil, QC
- Andrea Granata from Lighthouse Christian Academy, Portage La Prairie, MB
- Kyo Lee from Laurel Heights Secondary School, Waterloo, ON
- Eunsae Lee from St. Peter Catholic Secondary School, Peterborough, ON
- Thomas Li from St. George's School, Vancouver, BC
- Feather Mason-Delorme from Mount Boucherie Secondary School, West Kelowna, BC
- Hannah Mulessa from Blessed Sacrament Outreach School, Wainwright, AB
- Kayshini Nilendran from Markham District High School, Markham, ON
- Maria Fernanda Osorio Arredondo from École des Pionniers-de-Maillardville, Port Coquitlam, BC
- Khushi Sidhu from Calgary French & International School, Calgary, AB
- Caprice Strgar from Assumption College Catholic Middle School, Windsor, ON
- Richard Su from Fraser Heights Secondary School, Surrey, BC
- Malcolm Wernestrom from Dawson College, Westmount, QC
- Tosia Wolska-Chaney from CBe-learn, Calgary, AB
- Abby Zhang from The Study, Westmount, QC
About Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie
Founded by Scott Griffin, chairman and founder of the illustrious Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry, Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie encourages all Canadians to speak the language of poetry. They are the essential resource for teaching and learning poetry in Canada — and beyond. The organization started by hosting a recitation contest with 12 schools in Ontario in 2010 and has since become “a cultural force in Canada,” according to Margaret Atwood.
Every year, the organization hosts two national recitation contests (one for students in Grades 9–12, and another for students in Grades 6–8) and a dozen local team recitation contests every year. These contests rely on robust online anthologies of classic and contemporary poems in English and French. The organization also publishes an annual bilingual journal of student poetry, VOICES/VOIX, with issue #6 to be released next September.
Their websites also include comprehensive teaching materials, and to date Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie has sent poets into over 1300 classrooms to work with over 40,000 students through their Poet In Class/Poètes à l’école program.
Media Contact
For all media enquiries, including interviews with the finalists, the FutureVerse participants or with Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie, please contact:
- Executive Director, David Smith, e: david@poetryinvoice.ca, c: 514.668.0768
- Rorie Bruce, e: rorbruce@mymts.net, c: 204-781-1769