Nine students from across Canada won $18,000 in prizes as finalists of the 2023 Poetry In Voice competition.

The first, second and third place winners in the English, French and Bilingual Streams were announced on April 21 at a Calgary event hosted by Canadian poet and spoken word artist Liana Cusmano.

High school students Maia Cassie, Aaronsaul Negre and Hope Anaky all earned first place honours during the national finals. Cassie, a student from Queen Margaret's School in Duncan, B.C., won the English category; Negre, a student at All Saints High School in Calgary, won the bilingual category; and Anaky, a student from l'École Alexandre-Taché in St. Albert, Alta., won the French category.

Poetry in Voice challenges students in Grades 9-12 to learn two to three poems by heart and perform them in front of an audience. They can compete in English, French or a bilingual category. Prizes are given out to the winners across the three categories.

The annual competition was established by Scott Griffin, chairman and founder of the Griffin Trust for Excellence In Poetry, in 2011.

The three winners each take home a $3,000 prize. Second prize wins $2,000 and third prize is $1,000.

Second place in the English category went to Calgary student Maria Espindola from Bishop Carroll High School while third place went to Toronto student Olivia Bridgman from Lycée Français de Toronto.

The runner-up in the French category was Chloé Simard from Champlain Regional College in Saint-Lambert, Que. Arsène Guillemot from Collège Français secondaire Longueuil placed third.

Second place in the bilingual category was Toronto's Philippe Morissette from Lycée Français de Toronto and third place went to Maïté Turgeon from Collège Saint-Anne secondaire Dorval.

A jury composed of poets Richard Harrison, Micheline Maylor and Titilope Sonuga evaluated the English recitations; Clémence Dumas-Côté, Evelyne Gagnon and Rodney Saint-Éloi evaluated the French recitations.

The finalists recited poems by an array of classic and contemporary poets, including Dane Swan, Charlie Petch, Aja Monet, Jacques Prévert, Patrice Desbiens, and Victor Hugo.

According to the organization, more than 20,000 students across Canada participated to learn a classic and contemporary poem by heart in 2023. School champions participated in online qualifiers and the 24 students who obtained the highest scores advanced to the semifinals, where their videos were judged by a panel of Canadian poets.

The 2023 National Finals took place alongside FutureVerse, a four-day poetry intensive for 16 students selected from across Canada. Over the course of the week, the FutureVersers and National Finalists participated in panels, workshops and activities with writers, editors and activists.