Natasha Vargas, New Jersey state poetry champion, finished third place in the National Finals of Poetry Out Loud.
Vargas competed in the final round in Washington, D.C., on April 30, drawn from an initial pool of 53 finalists. After reciting "Thoughtless Cruelty," by Charles Lamb, Natasha placed third.
She won a $5,000 prize and her high school in Lawrence also receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books.
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