Wednesday, October 29, 2008

POETRY OUT LOUD CONTEST AT SBP


Elizabeth Schweers, a Junior from Madison, AL claimed the school contest for Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. Schweers recited Annabel Lee by Edgar Allen Poe, and Dreamers by Siegfried Sassoon. The competition, presented in partnership with the Alabama State Council of the Arts, 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. Schweers will advance to the district Poetry Out Loud contest to be held at UAH in Huntsville, AL. The Alabama champion will advance to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals on April 28-29 in Washington, DC, where $50,000 dollars in scholarships and school prizes will be awarded.

The winner at the state level will receive $200 and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, DC, to compete at the National Finals. The state winner’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. One runner-up in each state will receive $100; and his or her school will receive $200 for the purchase of poetry books.

A total of $50,000 in scholarship awards and school stipends will be awarded at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, with a $20,000 college scholarship award for the National Champion. The second-place winner will receive a $10,000 college scholarship award; the third-place winner will receive $5,000; and the fourth to twelfth place winners will each receive $1,000. The schools of the top 12 finalists will receive $500 for the purchase of poetry books.

English instructor, Stella Couch directed the contest. “I compare this competition to the National Spelling Bee,” Couch said. “It is competition within the classes and then the entire school.” Students are judged on physical presence, voice and articulation, appropriateness of dramatization, level of difficulty, evidence of understanding, as well as overall performance.

Runners up in the competition were Jesse Schaffers and Grace Larkin.

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