FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 14, 2008
Contact: Gregory Liakos,
Massachusetts Cultural Council 617-727-3668 x343
or John Michael Kennedy, Huntington Theatre Company, 617-273-1537
Mass. Students Compete in National Poetry Reading Contest
41 High Schools Take Part March 8 & 9 During Arts Education Month
(Boston) Students from 41 Massachusetts high schools will compete in a national, spelling bee-style poetry contest at venues in Framingham, Worcester and Boston during the weekend of March 8-9. These students will be chosen from among nearly 8,000 students statewide participating in the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. The winning student will travel to Washington, D.C. to represent Massachusetts in the National Finals in April.
Poetry Out Loud is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation. The Huntington Theatre Company and Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) sponsor the competition in Massachusetts.
The Huntington runs the statewide contest, recruiting 41 schools
to participate, first by staging classroom- and school-wide contests.
The schools will hold their local competitions this month and will
send representatives to two semi-final competitions Saturday, March
8, at the Framingham Civic League and Clark University in Worcester.
Judges will choose 18 students from these contests to compete at
the state finals on Sunday, March 9 at Old South Meeting House in
Boston. Last year’s Massachusetts winner was Gabrielle Guarracino
of Rockland High School.
This year’s Massachusetts Poetry Out Loud competition includes high schools from the following communities: Abington, Belmont, Beverly, Boston, Brighton, Burlington, Cambridge, Dorchester, Dover-Sherborn, Easton, Everett, Framingham, Great Barrington, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Milton, Malden, Methuen, Middleborough, Newburyport, Provincetown, Randolph, Rockland, Roxbury, South Hadley, Springfield, Topsfield, Tyngsborough, Westfield and West Springfield.
This year MCC will provide awards of $600 for each of the 15 state finalists as part of its Creative Minds education initiative. The Mass. state winner receives an additional $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to D.C. for the National Finals on April 29. The winner’s school receives a $500 stipend to purchase poetry books. A runner-up in each state receives an added $100, with $200 for his or her school library. At the National Finals, winners receive $50,000 total in scholarships and school stipends.
"Poetry Out Loud reminds us all of the power of creativity in making our schools vibrant centers for learning and engagement," says Anita Walker, MCC Executive Director. “We’re delighted to have so many students, teachers, and school communities participate this year.”
"This is our third year of Poetry Out Loud, and excitement around this wonderful competition continues to grow," says Michael Maso, Managing Director of the Huntington Theatre Company. “We hope citizens around the state will come to see these young people bring great poems to life on stage.”
About Poetry Out Loud:
Recitation and performance are major new trends in poetry. There has been a recent resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as seen in the slam poetry movement and the immense popularity of hip-hop music. Poetry Out Loud builds on that momentum by inviting the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theater into the English class.
The NEA and the Poetry Foundation have partnered with State Arts Agencies to support the expansion of Poetry Out Loud, which encourages the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. This exciting program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.
After successful pilot programs in Washington, DC, and Chicago, the second
phase of Poetry Out Loud was launched across America in
the spring of 2006 with tens of thousands of students participating.
Last year more than 100,000 students competed. Amanda Fernandez
from Washington, DC was named National Champion on May 1, 2007.
About the Massachusetts Cultural Council:
The MCC promotes excellence, access, education and diversity in
the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences, in order to improve
the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and contribute
to the economic vitality of our communities. MCC is a state agency
committed to building a central place for arts and culture in the
everyday lives of communities across the Commonwealth. It pursues
this mission through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy
for cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. MCC
receives an annual appropriation from the state Legislature and
funds from the NEA and other sources.
About the Huntington Theatre Company:
The Huntington Theatre Company., now in its 25th season as Boston's
leading professional theatre, has had a period of robust artistic
and institutional growth under Artistic Director Nicholas Martin
and Managing Director Michael Maso. While maintaining its home base
at the BU Theatre, the Huntington expanded its operations to include
the new Calderwood Pavilion. Over the past two decades, the Huntington's
nationally-recognized education programs have served more than 200,000
middle school and high school students, and its community outreach
programs each year bring theatre to the Deaf and blind communities,
the elderly, and other underserved populations in the Greater Boston
area.
For more information on March is Arts Education Month, go to www.keepartsinschools.org
