TOPEKA–The Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission announces the state finals for Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. The competition, presented in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. On Saturday, March 4, six Kansas high school students will participate in the Poetry Out Loud state finals.
“Poetry Out Loud encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. Reciting great poetry connects us to an ageless art form, to the timelessness of great poets, to abstract ideas and higher critical thinking, and, ultimately, to deeper life experiences,” said KCAIC Director Peter Jasso. “KCAIC is proud to be able to provide this opportunity to students in our state and support the talent inherent in our youth on a national stage.”
Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country. Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure. Beginning at the classroom level, winners advance to a school-wide competition, regional finals, then to the state competition, and ultimately to the National Finals in Washington, D.C. More than 315,000 students from 2,300 high schools took part in the 2015 – 2016 Poetry Out Loud program.
The Kansas Poetry Out Loud finals will take place on Saturday, March 4 at 4 p.m. at the Salina Community Theatre, 303 E Iron Ave. in Salina. The students competing are Sarah Katsiyiannis, senior at Tipton Catholic High School and 2016 Kansas Poetry Out Loud Champion, Sara Haggard from Perry-Lecompton High School, Audrey Puckett representing Colby High School, Kye Weekley of Ft. Scott, Wichita East High school student Mallory Northcutt and Bella L’Heureux of Blue Valley High School. The event is free and open to the public.
At the Kansas state finals, contestants will recite works they selected from an anthology of more than 900 classic and contemporary poems. Students participating in the Poetry Out Loud program have benefited from educational materials created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.
“Poetry is meant to be heard, to convey the emotion and tell the stories; it’s crucial,” said Kansas Poetry Out Loud State Coordinator Deb Kohn. “After participating in POL, students say they have a new appreciation for the art form and love it.”
Poetry Out Loud Awards
The winner of the Poetry Out Loud Kansas finals will receive $200, and the winner’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry materials. The first runner-up will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library. The state champion of the Poetry Out Loud Kansas final will receive an all-expenses-paid trip (with an adult chaperone) to compete in the National Finals in Washington, D.C., on April 25 and 26. The Poetry Out Loud National Finals will present a total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends, with a $20,000 award for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion.