For Immediate Release: February 28, 2008
Contact: Jeff Morgan
Public Relations
515.281.3858
Jeff.Morgan@iowa.gov
Iowa students to compete in national poetry contest
College scholarships and school prizes on the line March 8
(DES MOINES, Iowa)—Fourteen Iowa students will gather in Des Moines next week to compete for a state championship and a trip to a national poetry recitation contest in Washington, D.C., where $50,000 in scholarships and prizes will be awarded.
Iowa’s Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest will begin at 1 p.m. March 8, 2008 at the State Historical Building, 600 E. Locust Street in Des Moines. The contest is free and open to the public and will include poetry recitations by each student competitor.
Created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, the Poetry Out Loud contest in Iowa is presented by the Iowa Arts Council. Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge and NEA’s John Ostrout, director of State and Regional Partnerships, will attend the contest and make remarks.
“The Iowa Arts Council strongly supports teaching poetry in schools,” said Cyndi Pederson, director of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. “This program extends learning opportunities beyond the classroom and helps students develop skills they’ll need their entire lives. It also fosters a life-long appreciation and understanding of great poetry. We are grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation for supporting this event in Iowa through the Iowa Arts Council.”
Poetry Out Loud, which began in 2005, helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage. This year, more than 200,000 students from across the nation competed at the classroom and school levels.
Iowa’s state-level winner will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the National Finals. The state winner’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The state runner-up will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library. A total of $50,000 in scholarship prizes and school stipends will be awarded at the National Finals, with a $20,000 scholarship prize for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion.
Iowa’s past state champions are Ashley Baccam of Des Moines East in 2006 and Spencer Gilbert of West Des Moines Valley in 2007. The following Iowa students will compete in the state-level contest March 8, 2008 at the State Historical Building, with the winner advancing to the National Finals at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., April 28-29, 2008:
(City/Town)
(Student)
(School)
(Teacher)
Ankeny
Shaquita Welch
Northview Middle School
Kelcy Lofgren
Churdan
Sarah Thompson
Paton-Churdan Community
Melissa Johnson
Des Moines
Alyssa Gourd
Hoover High School
Nicholas Jackson
Des Moines
Ronnie McConnell
Lincoln High School
Linda Schlak
Des Moines
Saulaman Schlegel
North High School
Mark Rixner
Lake Park
Mitchell Tiedeman
Harris Lake Park Community
Mary Brandt
Marcus
Hunter Heidesch
MMC High School
Karen Swinger
Mondamin
Jeena Gochenour
West Harrison CSD
Madylon Perley
Newton
Melissa Truinstra
Newton High School
Margaret Caldwell
Norwalk
Alyson Browder
Norwalk High School
Martha Davis
Perry
Jessica Phillips
Perry High School
Wendy Bollhoefer
Sigourney
Felicia Mauk
Sigourney High School
Jessica Weinreich
Story City
Emily Mortvedt
Roland-Story High School
Denise Biechler
West Des Moines
Kate Vukovich
Valley High School
Karen Downing
Call 515-281-4641 or visit www.poetryoutloud.org for more information about Poetry Out Loud.
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The Iowa Arts Council is a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and works to enrich the quality of life and learning in Iowa communities by encouraging excellence in the arts through leadership, grants and technical assistance. Funding for the Iowa Arts Council and its programs is provided by the State of Iowa and the National Endowment for the Arts. More information about IAC is available at www.iowaartscouncil.org.