 |
|
For Immediate Release
March 19, 2009
Media Contact
- Allison Tratner
- 609.292.4524
- allison@arts.sos.state.nj.us
State Champion Named at NJ Poetry Out Loud Competition
Up Next: National Poetry Competition in Washington, DC
(Trenton, NJ) Six high school students competed today in the fourth annual New Jersey Poetry Out Loud State Finals in front of a packed studio audience at New Jersey Network (NJN) in Trenton. The competition of recitation and performance of great works of classic and contemporary poetry was the dramatic culmination of a statewide contest that began in the fall and included more than 8,600 New Jersey students from 43 high schools and one homeschool association.
“Through this program students are challenged to delve into these great works of poetry and in the process gain new skills, build confidence and discover talents they might not have known they had…and what we see is transformation,” remarked New Jersey State Council on the Arts Chair Carol Ann Herbert.
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts presented NJ Poetry Out Loud in partnership with Playwrights Theatre of NJ, Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs, Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts, Discover Jersey Arts and NJN. NJ Poetry Out Loud is part of the national Poetry Out Loud program made possible through the funding and leadership of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation with additional funding for the New Jersey program by the Karma Foundation.
Students from across the state began competing in the fall, first at the classroom and school level and then at the regional level. Three regional contests were held in the north, central and southern parts of the state to determine who would move on to the State Finals. The six semi-finalists from those contests (two from each region) who competed today for the title of NJ Poetry Out Loud State Champion and runner-up are:
Shamsuddin Abdul-Hamid
Arts High School in Newark
Nadia Khan
Mainland Regional High School in Linwood
Jacob Roberts
North Jersey Home Schoolers Association
Ijeoma Egekeze
Piscataway High School in Piscataway
Mary Catherine Merwitz
Villa Victoria Academy in Ewing
Jason Stewart
Willingboro High School in Willingboro
The State Champion is Ijeoma Egekeze from Piscataway High School in Piscataway. The runner up is Jason Stewart from Willingboro High School in Willingboro.
Poetry Out Loud seeks to foster the next generation of literary readers by capitalizing on the latest trends in poetry – recitation and performance. The program builds on the resurgence of poetry as an oral art form and invites the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, rap, spoken word and theatre into the English class to help students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage. To maximize the positive impact of the program in New Jersey the State Arts Council partnered with Playwrights Theatre to provide intensive school residencies by professional poets and performing artists for some of the participating schools.
Today’s winner and runner-up received cash awards and stipends provided by the NEA and the Poetry Foundation for the purchase of poetry books by their schools. The State Champion received $200 and her school received $500. The runner-up received $100 and his school received $200 for their library. The State Champion also won an all-expense paid trip to Washington, DC to compete against 50 other State and District of Columbia Champions in the National Finals in April. Prizes there total over $50,000 in scholarships and round-trip airfares provided by Southwest Airlines for the twelve finalists, including a grand prize for the National Champion of a $20,000 college scholarship. All monetary prizes are provided by the NEA, the Poetry Foundation and Southwest Airlines.
NJN hosted, produced and live webcasted today’s NJ Poetry Out Loud event. View the webcast in its entirety through April 9th on JerseyArts.com and watch it on NJN2 for a week, starting Monday, April 6, in two timeslots (9 a.m. and 9 p.m.). Check your cable system or www.NJN.net to find NJN2 on your digital line-up.
Photographs Available
|
|
|
|
