Poetry In Voice National Finals in Vancouver
byToday, Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie announced the nine national finalists of its prestigious senior poetry recitation contest, along with the 16 talented students selected for FutureVerse.
Vancouver will host the Poetry In Voice National Finals (May 12 to May 15, 2025) bringing together the nation’s top reciters.
Finalists | Finals in Vancouver | FutureVerse | About
More than 10,000 high school students from across the country participated in the challenge, reciting poems from memory from the Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie online anthology. Students in grades 10–12 competed for top honors in the Senior Online Qualifiers in the English, French, or Bilingual streams.
There is one Vancouver student who is in the National Finals, and there are five BC students selected for FutureVerse.
Finalists
The nationwide competition saw 24 exceptional students advance to the semifinals, judged by a distinguished panel of poets, with each semifinalist receiving $250 and the two winners of the People’s Choice Award winning $500. Another $18,000 are up for grabs at our upcoming National Finals.
English Stream
- Heart Barabad, Kildonan-East Collegiate, Winnipeg, MB
- Isa Torres Rangel, All Saints High School, Calgary, AB
- Annabel Wood, École Secondaire Mont-Bleu, Gatineau, QC
Bilingual Stream
- Margot Cadrin, Collège Beaubois, Pierrefonds, QC
- Nour Snani, Glenforest Secondary School, Mississauga, ON
- Zak Tucker, Eric Hamber Secondary School, Vancouver, BC
French Stream
- Yasmine Aouchiche, École Internationale de Montréal, Montréal, QC
- Victor Dubé-Marcus, Collège St-Alexandre de la Gatineau, Gatineau, QC
- Omar Elbatouty, École Secondaire Étienne-Brûlé, Toronto, ON
Poetry In Voice National Finals in Vancouver
These nine finalists will showcase their talents live during the 15th Poetry In Voice National Finals at Vancouver’s The Centre on May 15th, with the event also available for streaming on the Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie website.
A distinguished panel of six judges will preside over the National Finals in Vancouver.
The English recitations will be evaluated by:
- Wade Compton
- Evelyn Lau
- Jane Munro
The French recitations will be judged by:
- Stéphane Despatie
- Louise Dupré
- Nadine Ltaif
Alongside the National Finals in Vancouver, FutureVerse will support emerging young writers through a four-day, all-expenses-paid poetry intensive. Participants (listed below) will take part in workshops, panels, readings, and activities led by acclaimed authors, publishers, and activists.
- Harmony Chen, St. Robert Catholic High School, Thornhill, ON
- Natalia Comeau, Charles P. Allen High School, Bedford, NS
- Charles Demers, École Polyvalente des Îles, l’Étang-du-Nord, QC
- Jérémie English, École Secondaire Jules-Verne, Vancouver, BC
- Jonah Harris, Oskāyak High School, Saskatoon, SK
- Shaza Khattab, Halifax West High School, Halifax, NS
- Konstantine Lamouelle, Harry Ainlay School, Edmonton, AB
- Sarah-Jeanne Leclerc, Collège André-Grasset, Montréal, QC
- Julia Li, University of Toronto Schools, Toronto, ON
- Rizwan Moonbow, École Panorama Ridge Secondary School, Surrey, BC
- Stacy Ogbuehi, NorKam Senior Secondary School, Kamloops, BC
- Amy Savciuc, All Saints High School, Calgary, AB
- Madeleine Semple, Martingrove Collegiate Institute, Etobicoke, ON
- Jacky Tang, St. George’s School, Vancouver, BC
- Lilah Warren, Island Connected, Nanaimo, BC
- Teresa Wu, Bernice MacNaughton High School, Moncton, NB
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.
Every year, the organization hosts two national recitation contests (one for students in Grades 10-12, and another for students in Grades 7-9) and a dozen regional team recitation contests. 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 #7 to be released next September.
The website also includes comprehensive teaching materials, and to date Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie has sent poets to more than 2,500 classrooms to work with over 75,000 students through their Poet In Class/Poètes à l’école program.
