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It’s Poetry, but it’s OUT LOUD!
Iowa
students are polishing their presentation skills and learning about poetry at
the same time as they gear up for the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest.
The Iowa competition will take place April 1 at Hoyt Sherman Place as part of
the Des Moines National Poetry Festival.
The contest encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance and competition. Participants competed in school-wide contests, and those winners will advance to the state competition. One Iowa student will be given an all-expenses paid trip to Washington D.C. to participate in the national competition May 16.
While many schools like Valley High School in Des Moines do not have courses solely dedicated to poetry, many other courses in the Language Arts area incorporate poetry into the lessons. Valley language arts teacher Karen Downing said a competition like Poetry Out Loud allows students to bring words on a page to life.
“It reminds students that poetry comes out of an oral tradition, that it is meant to be heard,” Downing said. “There is such a pleasure in the language of poetry. Memorizing and reciting a poem helps students inhabit a poem in a way that quick reading would not.”
“The Poetry Out Loud project brings several important aspects of a student’s learning experience together, like researching important literary works, honing public presentation skills and building self esteem,” adds Luanne O’Shea, who is helping to coordinate the event.
Poetry Out Loud, a project of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, gives the Iowa Arts Council an opportunity to use funds from the National Endowment for the Arts to partner with the Des Moines National Poetry Festival. Nine schools in Iowa have signed on to participate, and one winner from each school will take part in the state competition. They’ll have an opportunity to meet with Iowa poet Michael Carey, who will give them tips on presenting and reading their poems prior to their performance. Following the first reading, judges will determine two to four finalists to recite a second poem. A state winner and runner-up will be identified, with cash awards going to both individuals and to their school libraries in addition to the trip to Washington, D.C. for the winner. Judges for the state competition will be Carey, Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Director Anita Walker, author and Iowa State University professor Mary Swander and James McKean, poet and professor at Mt. Mercy College.
The April 1 competition begins at 11 a.m. at Hoyt Sherman Place, 1501 Woodland Ave., Des Moines. For more information, call 515.281.4641 or visit www.poetryoutloud.org.
