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Poetry Out Loud State Finals

Presented by Utah Arts Council at Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center

March 4, 2009

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Utah Division of Arts and Museums announces the state finals for Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. The competition, presented in partnership with 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. Students from more than 15 high schools will participate in the Poetry Out Loud state finals in the Black Box Theatre. Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country. Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure. Beginning at the classroom level, winners advance to a school-wide competition, then to the state competition, and ultimately to the National Finals in Washington, DC. More than 225,000 students across the country are expected to take part in Poetry Out Loud this year. At the Rose Wagner, contestants will recite works they selected from an anthology of nearly 600 classic and contemporary poems. Students participating in the Poetry Out Loud program have benefited from educational materials created by the Arts Endowment and the Poetry Foundation. These materials include a standards-based teacher's guide, a comprehensive website, and a CD featuring poetry recitations by well-known actors and writers such as Anthony Hopkins, Alyssa Milano, N. Scott Momaday, and Rita Dove. 'Since the start of this program just a few years ago, Utah students have continually stood out as strong competitors, and advanced to the highest levels of competition at the national level. Most recently, our 2008 State Champion, Madison Niermeyer, took third place in a competition of over 50 of her peers. That is quite a feat. I look forward to identifying our 2009 State Champion and following his or her progress,' said Margaret Hunt, Director of the Utah Division of Arts and Museums.