For Immediate Release: February 27, 2009
Contact: Jeff Morgan
Public Relations
515.281.3858
Jeff.Morgan@iowa.gov
Iowa students compete in poetry contest next month
College scholarships and school prizes on the line March 7
(DES MOINES, Iowa) — Seventeen 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 be at 1 p.m. March 7, 2009, 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.
“The Iowa Arts Council strongly supports teaching poetry in schools,” Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Director Cyndi Pederson said. “Poetry Out Loud extends learning opportunities beyond the classroom and helps students develop skills that will last a lifetime. 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.”
The event will also feature guest poet Mary Louise Vaughn Shirley Hopson, author of two poetry books, “The Pinder Poet: Cherishing This Heritage” and “Taste the Sugarcane-A View from the Staircase with Dialogue.” M.L Hopson is an orator who has read in schools for the Des Moines National Poetry Festival as well as in Iowa, Nebraska and Maryland.
She retired as a copy editor in 1995 and received the Governor’s Volunteer Award for her work advocating for children, Civil Rights and peace. In 1997, she earned the United Way Volunteer Award for her work with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate).
Poetry Out Loud began in 2005 and 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 George Washington University in Washington, D.C., to compete in the National Finals April 27-28, 2009. 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.
Iowa’s past state champions are Emily Mortvedt of Roland-Story High School in 2008, Spencer Gilbert of West Des Moines Valley in 2007 and Ashley Baccam of Des Moines East in 2006.
The following Iowa students will compete in the state-level contest March 7, 2009, at the State Historical Building:
(City/Town)
(Student)
(School)
(Teacher)
Ankeny
Elizabeth Glynn
Ankeny High School
Kelcy Lofgren
Ankeny
Kelsey Knake
Northview Middle School
Maureen Hegedus and Stephanie Nugent
Des Moines
Ericka Sprague
Lincoln High School
Linda Schlak
Des Moines
“R.J.” Monroe
North High School
Mark Rixner
Early
Lisa Schmidt
Schaller-Crestland High School
Jo Vetter
George
Benjamin Tecken
George-Little Rock High School
Brenda Sandbulte
Iowa Falls
Johanna Schoenfelder
Iowa Falls-Alden High School
Cynthia Brown
Johnston
Victoria Rasavanh
Johnston Middle School
Sara St. John
Marshalltown
Zoe Harris
Marshalltown High School
Susan Fritzell
Mason City
Jennifer Messer
Mason City High School
Mary Cusack Alexander
Norwalk
Alyson Browder
Norwalk High School
Martha Davis
Oskaloosa
Chris North
Oskaloosa Community Senior High School
Beth Lund
Ottumwa
Jill Evans
Ottumwa High School
Miriam Kenning
Pella
Marielle Gaiser
Pella Community High School
Suzanne Sheldon Jones and Laura Fank
Story City
Mia Pierson
Roland-Story High School
Denise Biechler
Waukee
Luke Cunningham
Waukee High School
Allison Chartier
West Des Moines
Linh Ta
Valley High School
Karen Downing and Carol Engelmann
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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 for Iowans through support of the arts. Funding for the Iowa Arts Council and its programs is provided by the state of Iowa and the National Endowment for the Arts.