4th Annual Poetry Out Loud State Championship
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- February 26, 2009
CONTACT: Scott Hirko, Public Relations Officer,
shirko [at] mihumanities.org, 517-372-0029 ext. 25
24 Michigan high schools participating. State winner awarded $200 and trip to national finals in D.C.
- DATE: Saturday, March 7, 2009
- TIME: 12:30 - 4:00 p.m.
- WHERE: Forum Room, State Library of Michigan, 702 W. Kalamazoo St., Lansing
- WHAT: Poetry Out Loud state championship
- COST: Free to the public. Limited seating on a first-come, first-served basis
(LANSING)-----The Michigan Humanities Council announces the fourth annual Poetry Out Loud recitation competition to be held on Saturday, March 7, 2009, from 12:30 – 4 p.m. in the Forum Room at the Library of Michigan in Lansing. Students from 24 Michigan high schools will compete (below is a list of schools, teachers, and participating students). Participants will each recite two poems and be judged on: physical presence, voice and articulation, appropriateness of dramatization, level of difficulty, evidence of understanding accuracy, and overall performance. The state winner will receive $200 and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete for the national championship April 27-28, 2009. The state winner's school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The runner-up in the state competition will receive $100, along with $200 for his or her school library. The top four finishers at the state championship will also be invited to participate in the 47th Annual Michigan Youth Arts Festival, from May 7-9, 2009, in Kalamazoo.
In 2009 – its fourth year – Michigan’s Poetry Out Loud will have its greatest participation with 24 schools and more than 1,000 students involved. Poetry Out Loud encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. Since October, Language Arts/English teachers at participating schools have prepared students to compete at the school level and advance to the state finals.
“Poetry Out Loud consistently demonstrates the opportunity for students to connect poetry to culture and use poetry as a powerful tool for expression,” said Jan Fedewa, Executive Director of the Michigan Humanities Council. “The Michigan Humanities Council is pleased to partner with these organizations to bring Poetry Out Loud to Michigan high school students.”
“We have heard again and again that once students internalize a couple of poems they really like for the Poetry Out Loud program, they feel empowered to explore many other literature works, even if they previously had little or no interest in poetry,” said Maryrose Flanigan, Program Manager for the National Endowment for the Arts.
“Poetry Out Loud succeeds by helping students develop public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage,” said John Bracey, Executive Director of the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
“We are pleased to be partners of this incredible program and look forward to the transformative power of poetry and oration merged into the performances at the Michigan Youth Arts Festival,” said Kim Dabbs, Executive Director of the Michigan Youth Arts Association.
In last year’s Michigan competition, 86 percent of student participants who evaluated the program developed their own interpretation of poems; 85 percent stated they saw a connection between poetry and everyday culture; 82 percent understood that poetry could be a powerful tool for expression.
Charles White from Forest Hills Central High School in Grand Rapids won the 2008 Michigan Poetry Out Loud championship and advanced to the final championship round of 12 students from across the country. Sarah Harris from Holt High School was the state champion in 2007. Travis Walter from Holt High School won the state championship in 2006.
Poetry Out Loud is a Michigan Humanities Council partnership program with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the Library of Michigan, and the Michigan Youth Arts Association.
The Michigan Humanities Council, founded in 1974, is a private, non-profit organization funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
2008-2009 Michigan Poetry Out Loud participating schools and students
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MID-MICHIGAN |
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EAST MICHIGAN/THUMB AREA |
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SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN |
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WEST MICHIGAN |
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The Michigan Humanities Council, founded in 1974, is a private, non-profit organization, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
FACTS AND FIGURES FROM 2007-2008 MICHIGAN’S POETRY OUT LOUD
- 906 students in Michigan participated and returned evaluations.
- 18 teachers participated and returned evaluations.
- Teachers provided 153 hours of their time in addition to 163 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% developed their own individual interpretation of poems.
- 85% saw connections between poetry and everyday culture.
- 82% understood that poetry can be a powerful tool for expression.
- 68% understood that poems meet different purposes and were led to explore challenging and unfamiliar poems.
- 67% were more confident in their public speaking from reciting poetry.
- 58% could understand and explain different poetic elements.
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