**Lauren Treiber of Forest Hills Central High School Wins Poetry Out Loud State Championship**

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- March 6, 2010
CONTACT: Scott Hirko, Public Relations Officer,
shirko [at] mihumanities.org, 517-372-0029 ext. 25

also in PDF

Treiber to receive $200 and win a trip to national finals in Washington, D.C.; Kelly Stec of Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte finishes second

(LANSING)-----Lauren Treiber of Forest Hills Central High School in Grand Rapids won the 2010 Poetry Out Loud state championship hosted today in Lansing by the Michigan Humanities Council. Treiber bested 22 other contestants from across Michigan to win the title. She is currently in the 12th grade and lives in Grand Rapids. She will receive a $200 cash award and an all-expenses paid trip to the national finals in Washington D.C. from April 25-27, 2010. Forest Hills Central High School will also receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. Kelly Stec of RooseveltHigh School in Wyandotte was named the runner-up in the competition. She is in the 11th grade. She will receive $100, along with $200 for the Roosevelt High School library. The competition was held at the Michigan Library and Historical Center in Lansing.

Each student recited two poems; the top four students competed in a final, championship round. The students competing in the championship round recited a third poem. Each student's performance was judged on six categories: Physical Presence; Voice and Articulation; Appropriateness of Dramatization; Level of Difficulty; Evidence of Understanding; and, Overall Performance.

The poems recited by Trieber were:

A Locked House by W.D. Sondgrass
Life in a Love by Robert Browning
Mortal Sorrows by Rodney Jones

Notably, Trieber advanced to the championship round as a junior last year for Forest Hills Central High School. In 2008, Charles White, also from Forest Hills Central High School, was named Michigan’s Poetry Out Loud champion.

The Poetry Out Loud program, 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, encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. In 2010 – its fifth year – Michigan’s Poetry Out Loud included participation from 24 schools and more than 4,500 students involved. Since October, Language Arts/English teachers have prepared students to compete at the school level and advance to the state finals. Each school champion advanced to the state competition held earlier today. Poetry Out Loud helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.

Trieber will compete at the National Finals, to be held on April 25-27, 2010, in Washington, D.C. 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. Each of the four students who competed in the championship round – Treiber, Stec, senior Kevin Heras of Houghton High School, and junior Harron Atkins of Cass Technical High School in Detroit – have been invited to participate in the 48th annual Michigan Youth Arts Festival in Kalamazoo on May 13-15, 2010.

Previous Michigan Poetry Out Loud winners were Daniel Bellomy of Cass Technical High School in Detroit in 2009, Charles White of Forest Hills Central High School (Grand Rapids) in 2008, Sarah Harris of Holt High School in 2007, and Travis Walter from Holt High School in 2006.

The Michigan Humanities Council, founded in 1974, is an independent, non-profit organization funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. For additional information on the Michigan Humanities Council, please visit: www.michiganhumanities.org or call 517-372-7770.

2009-2010 MICHIGAN CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND Finalists:

1st Place - Lauren Treiber (senior, Forest Hills Central High School, Grand Rapids)
2nd Place - Kelly Stec (junior, Roosevelt High School, Wyandotte)
Finalist - Kevin C. Heras (senior, Houghton High School, Houghton)
Finalist - Harron Atkins (junior, Cass Technical High School, Detroit)

2009-2010 Michigan Poetry Out Loud participating schools and students

		Teacher		Student
School	City	First Name	Last	First Name	Last	Grade	Student Hometown
----- SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN -----
University High School Academy	Southfield	Davena	Jackson	Danielle	El-Amin	9	Southfield
Saline High School	Saline	Carolyn	Kreple	Dillon	Burns	12	Saline
Roosevelt High School	Wyandotte	Warren	Baker	Kelly	Stec	11	Wyandotte
Cass Technical High School	Detroit	Marilyn	McCormick	Harron	Atkins	11	Detroit
Bradford Academy High School	Southfield	Melissa	Hedgcock	Glennika	Hubbard	11	Redford
Franklin Road Christian School	Novi	Teresa	Swaffield	Alexandra	Hicks	12	Novi
Detroit Catholic Central High School	Novi	Kevin	Griffin	Tim	Hoffman	11	Howell
----- CENTRAL/THUMB MICHIGAN -----
Carman-Ainsworth High School	Flint	Amanda	Sauvie	Paige	Conway	11	Flint
Madison Academy	Flint	Dawn	Corbray	Rishard	Hawk	10	Flint
Wolverine Alternative Education	Vassar	John	Robison	Abigail	Tanner	12	Vassar
----- MID MICHIGAN -----
Holt High School	Holt	Nick	Mourning	Mikaela	Taylor	12	Lansing
----- SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN -----
Portage Central High School	Portage	Cheryl	Braford	Gabriella	Fox	12	Kalamazoo
Grace Christian School	Watervliet	Leslie	Beukelman	Sarah	Johnson	12	Benton Harbor
Portage Northern High School	Portage	Nancy	Nott	Jennifer	Miller	12	Portage
----- WEST MICHIGAN -----
North Muskegon High School	Muskegon	Toni	Seyferth	Cora	Young	12	Muskegon
Forest Hills Central High School	Grand Rapids	Sarah	Scobell	Lauren	Treiber	12	Grand Rapids
----- NORTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN -----
Alba Public School	Alba	Judy	Zimpfer	Kristi Leigh	Leitow	12	Alba
The Leelanau School	Glen Arbor	Norm	Wheeler	Taylor	Maddox	11	Glen Arbor
Boyne Falls Public School	Boyne Falls	Jeff	Garver	Teghan	Oswald	9	Boyne Falls
Petoskey High School	Petoskey	Glen	Young	Dana	Reynolds	9	Petoskey
----- UPPER PENINSULA -----
Mackinac Island Public School	Mackinac Island	Lance	Greenlee	Onaca	Bennett	9	Mackinac Island
Houghton High School	Houghton	Julie	Antilla	Kevin	Heras	12	Hancock
Jeffers High School	Painesdale	Cindy	Ruotsi	Noble	Rundman	9	South Range

FACTS AND FIGURES FROM 2008-2009 MICHIGAN’S POETRY OUT LOUD

An estimated 2,725 students participated in Michigan’s Poetry Out Loud from 32 schools. Students who returned evaluations reported:

97% could understand and explain different poetic elements.
97% developed their own individual interpretation of poems.
87% saw connections between poetry and everyday culture.
67% understood that poetry can be a powerful tool for expression.
55% understood that poems meet different purposes and were led to explore challenging and unfamiliar poems.

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News

Katie Corbit of Portage Central HS

2010 Michigan Poetry Out Loud champion Lauren Treiber of Forest Hills Central High School (Grand Rapdis).

Lauren Treiber

Lauren Treiber in front of a painting by Daniel Cascardo, a visual artist's interpretation of the day's events.

Poetry Out loud contestants

2010 Poetry Out Loud contestants