Poetry Out Loud
The National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation created the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest to encourage high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance and competition. 7,000 students in 90 Pennsylvania high schools across the state participated at the classroom level in this year’s competition, vying to compete at one of the 13 regional competitions hosted by the PCA’s Arts in Education Partners and the Pennsylvania Parent Teacher Association.
The Poetry Out Loud program builds upon the resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as seen in the slam poetry movement. Poetry Out Loud invites the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word and theater into the English class. Through Poetry Out Loud, students can master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage.
Poetry Out Loud:
- Builds on the resurgence of poetry as an oral art form
- Invites the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word and theater into the English class.
- Helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, engage in the mental discipline of memorization, and learn about their literary heritage.
2012 Event
Want To Be A Part of An Exciting, Nation-wide Program
That Challenges Students In Language and Arts?
“Poetry Out Loud” May Be Just the Program For You!
Poetry Out Loud Workshop
For Teachers and their students who would like to learn more & participate in the Poetry Out Loud competition through ArtsErie
When: October 20th, 2011 from 9:30 am to 12:00 noon
Where: Gannon University, Schuster Theatre
Instructors: Paula Barrett & Jax Kubiak
Paula Barrett, Instructor in Theatre, Communications & Fine Arts with Gannon University
Jax Kubiak, Instructor & Technical Director for Schuster Theatre
Students will learn techniques in vocal and physical warm-ups, acting and reading exercises with some memorizing and interpreting skill work.
Sponsored by ArtsErie's Arts in Education program
Cost: Free
To register contact Anna at ArtsErie; 814-452-3427 or info@artserie.org
Register deadline: October 13th
Poetry Out Loud Regional Competition
ArtsErie will host the POL Regional Competition on February 18, 2012 at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA.
The competition begins at 11:00 am with an award ceremony immediately following the competition. Participants must register with ArtsErie for the competition by January 2, 2012. For more information please email Lora Zill at timesing@zoominternet.net
ArtsErie is proud to note the participation of these high schools in POL over the years:
Commodore Perry Mercyhurst Prep
Conneaut Lake NW PA Collegiate Academy
Erie East Union City
Hickory Various Homeschool Associations
Meadville
Poetry Out Loud is easily integrated into existing curriculum.
Want to see how it can excite your students and enhance your instruction?
CONTACT:
Holly Nowak, ArtsErie Arts in Education Program Manager
hollyy@artserie.org or 814-452-3427
OR
Lora Zill, POL Coordinator
timesing@zoominternet.net or 814-382-8667
Additional information about Poetry Out Loud is available online at www.poetryoutloud.org.
Past Events
2011 Event
ArtsErie announces that Jillian Johannes, a sophomore at Mercyhurst Prep, has been selected as the winner of the regional finals for the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program, created by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation, which encourages the study of poetry by offering educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country.
ArtsErie and the PA Council on the Arts presented the 2011 regional competition, held Saturday February 19, 2011 at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. This year, three students participated in the regional finals. In addition to Johannes, the following students competed: Katelyn Baker, a home-schooled student with the Western Pennsylvania Christian Orators, who placed second in this year’s contest. Placing third in the competition was Megan Kibler, a student at Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy.
The three poems Johannes chose to recite for her portion of the competition were “Hope” is the Thing With Feathers” by Emily Dickenson, “Altruism” by Molly Peacock, and “The Unknown Citizen” by W.H. Auden. She was awarded an all-expense-paid trip to the Pennsylvania State Finals for Poetry Out Loud, which will be held on Monday, March 14th 2011 at the Governor’s Residence, in Harrisburg, PA. There she will be vying for the opportunity to compete at the National Finals, to be held on April 29, 2011 in Washington, D.C., where Poetry Out Loud will award $50,000 in scholarships and school prizes to the winner.
2010 Event
ArtsErie announces that Katelyn Clarahan, a home-schooled high school freshman from Franklin, Pa., has been selected as the winner of the regional finals of the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program, created by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation, which encourages the study of poetry by offering educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country.
ArtsErie and the PA Council on the Arts presented the 2010 regional competition, held Saturday, February 20, 2010 at Allegheny College in Meadville. This year, four students participated in the regional finals. In addition to Clarahan, the following students competed: Lucy Crozier, junior, Meadville High School, Meadville; Rachel Golden, sophomore, Mercyhurst Preparatory School, Erie; and Nate Repasz, senior, NW PA Collegiate Academy, Erie.
Clarahan is the daughter of Robert and Terri Clarahan, who is also her teacher, and a member of the Western PA Christian Orators homeschool speech club, taught by Gaye Welton. She was awarded an all-expense-paid trip to the Pennsylvania state finals for Poetry Out Loud, to be held on Monday, March 15, 2010 at the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg. There, she will be among 13 students from across the state vying for the opportunity to compete at the national finals, to be held in April 2010 in Washington, D.C., where Poetry Out Loud will award $50,000 in scholarships and school prizes.
Contestants in Poetry Out Loud memorize and recite works they select from an anthology of more than 500 classic and contemporary poems. Students then advance to the National Finals through competitions at the classroom, school, regional and state levels. The judges for the 2010 regional competition were ArtsErie Poetry Out Loud coordinator Lora Zill; as well as Donna Baker; Robyn Crago; Jan Hyatt; and Mary Morris.
The 2009-10 academic year marks ArtsErie's fifth year as regional host for area high schools. High Schools in Erie, Crawford, Warren, Mercer, Lawrence, Venango, Forest, McKean, Potter, Elk and Cameron were eligible to compete as part of ArtsErie's region.
2009 Event
ArtsErie and the PA Council on the Arts presented the 2009 regional competition, held Saturday, February 21, 2009 at Allegheny College in Meadville. Four students participated in the regional finals. In addition to Glinsky, the following students competed: Katie Ahrens, junior, NW PA Collegiate Academy, Erie; Krista Ivan, junior, Hickory High School, Hermitage; and Gabrielle Taylor, sophomore, Mercyhurst Preparatory School, Erie.
Luka Glinsky, an 18-year-old, home-schooled high school senior from Erie, was selected as the winner of the regional finals. Glinsky is the son of Dr. Albert Glinsky and Linda Kobler of Erie. He will study creative writing and drama in college in Fall 2009. Kobler credits Poetry Out Loud with her son’s decision. “Poetry Out Loud has enormous significance in our family, especially since it was the original catalyst that got Luka involved with writing poetry,” she says. 2009 marked Glinsky’s third and final year participating in the state finals.
The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts is a state agency under the Governor’s Office. Its mission is to foster the excellence, diversity and vitality of the arts in Pennsylvania and to broaden the availability and appreciation of those arts throughout the state.
For more information about Poetry Out Loud, visit www.PoetryOutLoud.org.
