Poetry Out Loud State Competition : Oregon Arts Commission

For Immediate Release

Media Coverage Invited

Contact: Deb Vaughn, (503) 986-0085, deborah.vaughn@state.or.us
Cynthia Kirk, (503) 986-0081, cynthia.kirk@state.or.us

Students from 16 Oregon High Schools To Compete in
Oregon Finals of National Poetry Out Loud Competition
Generous Scholarships Awarded to State, National Runners-Up, Finalists and Winners with Poetry Book Stipends for School Libraries

The Oregon Arts Commission, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, brings the Poetry Out Loud program to 16 high schools and more than 2,000 students across Oregon this year. The program, now in its third year in Oregon, involves the memorization and recitation of classic and contemporary poetry and culminates in a statewide competition. Poetry Out Loud has grown from four schools in Oregon during the 2005-06 school year to 16 in 2007-08. Nationwide, more than 150,000 students are expected to participate.

Each participating school holds a school wide recitation contest, with the winner eligible to compete in the free and open-to-the-public state competition to be held 10 AM – 2 PM, Saturday, March 15, Loucks Auditorium/Salem Public Library, 555 Liberty Street SE. The judges are Oregon Poet Laureate Lawson Fusao Inada, theater director Scott Palmer and poets Judith Barrington and Primus St. John. Oregon’s participating schools are:

Bandon High School, Bandon
Beaverton High School, Beaverton*
Brookings-Harbor High, Brookings
Forest Grove High school, Forest Grove
The Center for Advanced Learning, Gresham*
Hood River Valley High School, Hood River*
Lake Oswego High School, Lake Oswego

South Medford High School, Medford
Veritas School, Newberg*
Madison High School, Portland*
Metropolitan Learning Center, Portland*
Northwest Academy, Portland*
Crook County High School, Prineville
Salem Academy Christian School, Salem*
Sherwood High School, Sherwood
Woodburn Arts & Communications High School, Woodburn*

* participated in the 2006-07 contest

Oregon’s state champion will advance to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, in Washington, D.C. on April 28 – 29, 2008. In addition to an all-expense paid trip to D.C., the state champion wins a $200 scholarship with $500 awarded to his or her school library for the purchase of poetry. The runner-up receives a $100 scholarship, with the school library awarded $200.

The prizes at the national level are impressive: a $20,000 scholarship for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion, and $10,000 and $5,000 for the second- and third-place finalists, respectively. The remaining nine finalists each receive $1,000, and the schools of the top 12 finalists receive $500 to purchase poetry. In total, Poetry Out Loud will award more than $100,000 at state- and national-level contests.

Oregon’s first statewide champion (2006), Michael Santiago from Gresham’s The Center for Advanced Learning, represented the state Oregon as one of 12 finalists in the national competition.

Poetry Out Loud seeks to foster the next generation of literary readers by capitalizing on the latest trends in poetry – recitation and performance. The program builds on the resurgence of poetry as an oral art form and brings aspects of slam poetry, spoken word and theater into the English class. Through Poetry Out Loud, students can master public speaking skills and build self-confidence.

Dana Gioia , chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (and a poet himself) says, “Learning great poetry by heart develops the mind and imagination. Poetry Out Loud isn’t just an arts program. By immersing themselves in powerful language and ideas, the students develop their ability to speak well, especially in public. This is a skill they will use in the workplace and the community for the rest of their lives.”

The Oregon Arts Commission, the NEA and the Poetry Foundation collaborate on Poetry Out Loud each year. The Arts Commission has developed an Oregon Curriculum Guide to connect Poetry Out Loud classroom activities to Oregon’s Content and Performance Standards in Language Arts and Arts/Drama.

For more information, contact the Oregon Arts Commission at (503) 986-0082, or visit the national website at www.poetryoutloud.org.

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The Oregon Arts Commission provides leadership, funding and arts programs through its grants, special initiatives and services. Nine Commissioners, appointed by the Governor, determine arts needs and establish policies for public support of the arts. The Arts Commission became part of the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department in 1993, in recognition of the expanding role the arts play in the broader social, economic and educational arenas of Oregon communities. In 2003, the Oregon legislature moved the operations of the Oregon Cultural Trust to the Arts Commission, streamlining operations and making use of the Commission’s expertise in grantmaking, arts and cultural information and community cultural development.

The Arts Commission is supported with general funds appropriated by the Oregon legislature, federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and funds from the Oregon Cultural Trust.

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Dated for freshness! Page last updated March 21, 2009