Charlotte Bollschweiller, a senior at Maryville’s Clayton-Bradley Academy, won the 2024 Tennessee Poetry Out Loud contest held in Nashville on March 2.
Held at Nashville Children’s Theatre, the competition featured 18 finalists from across Tennessee with over 1,000 students and 60 teachers participating in the program.
Charlotte was the first runner-up in last year’s competition and second runner-up in 2022. She is very involved in the arts. As a member of the Appalachian Ballet Company, she has performed several lead roles over the years. She plans to study art at Maryville College this fall.
“I think that the Poetry Out Loud competition has a big sense of community – especially among the competitors,” said Charlotte, “because we’re all here under a common purpose.”
As the state champion, Charlotte will participate in the national semifinals, with the top nine students advancing to the national finals to be held April 30 -May 2 in Washington, D.C.
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