Watch the 42 Semifinalists’ recitations and vote for your favourite!
Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie announces 42 Semifinalists in its high school recitation contest! The National Finals will be broadcast live on April 21st on poetryinvoice.ca. The 42 Grades 9–12 students were chosen from thousands of students across the country.
Here are our Semifinalists!
Bilingual Stream
| Lauren Altomare
NORTHERN SECONDARY SCHOOL TORONTO, ON 
|
Amira Aouchiche
ÉCOLE INTERNATIONALE DE MONTRÉAL MONTRÉAL, QC 
|
Nadine Berdous
COLLÈGE JEAN-EUDES MONTRÉAL, QC 
|
| Charlotte DeLeskie
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO SCHOOLS TORONTO, ON 
|
Victoria Gotcheva
GLENFOREST SECONDARY SCHOOL MISSISSAUGA, ON 
|
Michelle Lin
WEST POINT GREY ACADEMY VANCOUVER, BC 
|
| Rohan Mariash
MILES MACDONELL COLLEGIATE WINNIPEG, MB 
|
Isadora Mota Pinheiro
COLLÈGE BEAUBOIS PIERREFONDS, QC 
|
Gaëlle Nadon
COLLÈGE ST-ALEXANDRE DE LA GATINEAU GATINEAU, QC 
|
| Aaronsaul Negre
ALL SAINTS HIGH SCHOOL Calgary, AB 
|
Jessica O’Brien-Visbisky
DR. CHARLES BEST SECONDARY SCHOOL COQUITLAM, BC 
|
Natalia Starzeba
PHILIP POCOCK SCHOOL MISSISSAUGA, ON 
|
English Stream
| Faith Aborode
ASSUMPTION COLLEGE CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL WINDSOR, ON 
|
Yusra Ali
EDMONTON ISLAMIC ACADEMY EDMONTON, AB 
|
Bem Denga
WEBBER ACADEMY CALGARY, AB 
|
| Al Gilbert
KILDONAN-EAST COLLEGIATE WINNIPEG, MB 
|
Chloe Lam
LITTLE FLOWER ACADEMY VANCOUVER, BC 
|
Finn Liu
FRASER HEIGHTS SECONDARY SCHOOL SURREY, BC 
|
| Ella Majkic
PRINCE OF WALES SECONDARY SCHOOL VANCOUVER, BC 
|
LiLi Miko
LONDON CENTRAL SECONDARY SCHOOL London, ON 
|
Isabel Miller
CROFTON HOUSE SCHOOL VANCOUVER, BC 
|
| Kate Morozova
THORNLEA SECONDARY SCHOOL THORNHILL, ON 
|
Mia Luz Nedellec
CHAMPLAIN REGIONAL COLLEGE - SAINT-LAMBERT SAINT-LAMBERT, QC 
|
Stephanie Omorotionmwan
ALL SAINTS HIGH SCHOOL Calgary, AB 
|
| Lilly O’Rielly
COLONEL GRAY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL CHARLOTTETOWN, PE 
|
Pearl Pilip
OTTEWELL SCHOOL EDMONTON, AB 
|
Shanice Raymond
ELMWOOD HIGH SCHOOL WINNIPEG, MB 
|
| William Skene
ST. GEORGE'S SCHOOL VANCOUVER, BC 
|
Anika Yap
ST. JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL WINDSOR, ON 
|
Olivia Yong
BAYVIEW SECONDARY SCHOOL RICHMOND HILL, ON 
|
French Stream
| Harshpreet Anand
ÉCOLE LA ROSE SAUVAGE CALGARY, AB 
|
Youssef Farag
COLLÈGE BEAUBOIS PIERREFONDS, QC 
|
Sarah Hamdi
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO SCHOOLS TORONTO, ON 
|
| Mickaëla Harroche
ÉCOLE MAÏMONIDE CAMPUS JACOB SAFRA ST-LAURENT, QC 
|
Maria Khouas
COLLÈGE JEAN-DE-BRÉBEUF MONTRÉAL, QC 
|
Maya Lachance
CALGARY FRENCH & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL CALGARY, AB 
|
| Victoria Ngoy Ndombe
VILLA STE-MARCELLINE WESTMOUNT, QC 
|
Annick Parent
COLLÈGE ST-ALEXANDRE DE LA GATINEAU GATINEAU, QC 
|
Camille Racicot
CÉGEP DU VIEUX MONTRÉAL MONTRÉAL, QC 
|
| Wisdom Sanouvi-Awoga
ÉCOLE ALEXANDRE-TÂCHE ST. ALBERT, AB 
|
Anna Shagalov
ÉCOLE INTERNATIONALE DE MONTRÉAL MONTRÉAL, QC 
|
Chloé Simard
COLLÈGE JEAN-EUDES MONTRÉAL, QC 
|
To compete, students had to learn by heart two poems from our anthology and enter one of the contest’s three streams: English, French or Bilingual. The public is now invited to watch each Semifinalist’s video and vote for the People’s Choice Award:
poetryinvoice.ca/peoples-choice
lesvoixdelapoesie.ca/choix-du-public
$35,000 in Prizes
On winning a place in the Semifinals, each reciter has already earned $250. The recipient of the People’s Choice Award will receive an extra $500. During the National Finals, a total of nearly $35,000 will be awarded to the winners and their school libraries.
While Poetry In Voice’s signature event is normally held in a different Canadian city each year, the changes due to COVID-related health measures gave an opportunity to share the students’ recitation videos more widely. Until March 29th, the public may watch the Semifinalists’ 42 videos on poetryinvoice.ca and vote for their favourite one. Poetry lovers and neophytes alike: everyone will find poems and interpretations to their taste!
The judges will have the difficult task of choosing the nine finalists to be announced on Thursday, March 24 and who will participate in the National Finals, broadcast live on April 21.
In the meantime, the public is invited to follow the young reciters on the Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie website and to vote for the People’s Choice Award.
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 #4 to be released this June.
Their websites also include comprehensive teaching materials, and to date Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie has sent poets into over 1700 classrooms to work with over 50,000 students through their Poet In Class/Poètes à l’école program.
MEDIA CONTACT:
For all media enquiries, including interviews with the Semifinalists, contact Rorie Bruce, e: rorbruce@mymts.net, c: 204-781-1769