Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, over 10,000 students across Canada learned a poem by heart this year. School champions participated in online qualifiers and the 42 students who obtained the highest scores advanced to the semifinals, where their videos were judged by a panel of poets. The semi-finalists all received $250 each in prize money. During the National Finals, a total of nearly $35,000 will be awarded to the winners and their school libraries. The nine finalists will participate in our National Finals on April 21st, held online once again this year. The winners of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in each section of the contest will be announced at our final event. Each finalist will refilm their recitations and these new versions will be judged by a jury of poets: Michael Crummey, Fiona Tinwei Lam and Brandon Wint will judge the recitations in English; Daria Colonna, Flavia Garcia and Baron Marc-André Lévesque will judge the recitations in French. Former CBC Radio personality Johanne Blais will be hosting the National Finals, and the video of the event will be available on Poetry In Voice’s website. Find out more.

The Poetry In Voice competition was established by Scott Griffin, chairman and founder of The Griffin Trust for Excellence In Poetry, in 2010. It is typically held in a different Canadian city each year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the event has taken place virtually.