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A Program in Partnership with the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the Library of Michigan, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation.

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link here to MHC's Poetry Out Loud website

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- October 12, 2006
Contact: Scott Hirko, Public Relations Officer
(517) 372-7770 -- shirko [at] mihumanities.org

2006 POETRY CONTEST OPEN FOR SCHOOLS

Poetry Out Loud will provide curricular tools and award prizes to Michigan HS students; National champion to receive $20,000 scholarship

(LANSING)-----The Michigan Humanities Council (MHC) announces it is accepting letters of interest for the second year of the Poetry Out Loud competition. Each participating high school will receive poetry curriculum materials and audio CDs of poetry recitations. Awards will be presented to the best students and the best schools in the competition. The winning student will also represent the state of Michigan in a national competition. The MHC is presenting the competition in partnership with the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA), the State Library of Michigan, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and The Poetry Foundation. Those schools and teachers interested in participating must send a letter of interest to the Michigan Humanities Council by October 31, 2006.

“We are excited to build on last year’s success with Poetry Out Loud by expanding to more schools,” stated Jan Fedewa, executive director of the Michigan Humanities Council. “This is a great opportunity for students to learn directly from a poet. We are pleased to partner with MCACA and the State Library to offer a strong educational program for Michigan’s underserved high schools.”

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, as seen in the slam poetry movement and the immense popularity of rap music among youth.

Poetry Out Loud is offered to Language Arts and English teachers from Michigan high schools, with special consideration given to schools from underserved areas. An under-served community is defined as one in which people lack access to arts and humanities programs, services, or resources due to geography, economic conditions, cultural background, or sociopolitical circumstances. Ten schools will be selected to participate. Teachers selected to participate in the project will earmark two or three weeks of class time and will run their program between November 15, 2006 to February 25, 2007. During this time frame, the goal is to have a poet offer a workshop and possibly a performance to help provide leadership and guidance as the teacher prepares the students for the school-wide and state competitions. By March 1, 2007, the teacher(s) will select one winning student to represent their school in a statewide competition with students from other participating schools. Each of the winning students will compete on March 10, 2007, to become Michigan’s Poetry Out Loud representative for the national competition in Washington, D.C., from April 30 to May 1, 2007.

The state winner will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to the national competition. The winner’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The runner-up in the Michigan competition will receive $100, along with $200 for their school library. Scholarships and school stipends totaling $50,000 will be awarded at the National Finals, with a $20,000 college scholarship for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion.
Last year’s inaugural Poetry Out Loud state champion was Travis Walter from Holt High School, with Miquala Branklin of Sexton High School (Lansing) as the runner up. The two were among 17 finalists from five schools across Michigan, and presented at the Wharton Center in East Lansing on March 25, 2006.

FACTS AND FIGURES FROM 2005-2006 MICHIGAN’S POETRY OUT LOUD

• 481 students participated in Michigan
• 5 high schools participated: Bullock Creek HS (Midland), Sexton HS (Lansing), Holt HS, Owosso Christian HS, Dondero HS (Royal Oak)
• 15 teachers participated in Poetry Out Loud
• Teachers provided 174.5 hours of their time in addition to 103.5 hours of classroom time
• Over $100,000 in prizes were awarded to students and schools at state and national levels

Students who returned evaluations reported the following about Poetry Out Loud:

• 86% understood poetry can be a powerful tool to express one’s personal feelings and view of the world
• 75% saw a connection between poetry and today’s culture
• 75% understood that reading poetry is like acting
• 54% identified the elements and reasoning behind poetry
• 42% understood that various poetic forms support different modes of artistic expression
• 42% were more confident in their public speaking

2006-7 POETRY OUT LOUD DATES TO REMEMBER

• October 31, 2006. Letter of interest mailed to the Michigan Humanities Council
• November 7, 2006. Schools informed of selction and curriculum materials mailed
• November 15, 2006 to February 25, 2007. Schools weave POL into curriculum, hold school competitions.
• March 1, 2007. One winning student from each school selected to participate a statewide competition
• March 10, 2007. Michigan Poetry Out Loud competition. Lansing, Michigan.
• April 30 to May 1, 2007. National Poetry Out Loud competition.  Washington, D.C.

The Michigan Humanities Council, founded in 1974, is the state’s independent, non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For additional information on the Michigan Humanities Council, please visit:http://www.michiganhumanities.org or call 517-372-7770. 

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