|
(Indianapolis, Indiana) - The Indiana arts Commission (IAC) and the Indiana State Library (ISL) announced today that the Indiana Poetry Out Loud state champion won top honors for recitation of an original composition at the recent Poetry Out Loud national competition in Washington, D.C.
The 53 state and U.S. territories champions competing in the
National Finals had the opportunity to showcase their creativity through the
optional competition, Poetry Ourselves.
Students could submit an original work of poetry in one of two categories;
either a written poem or a video of a spoken poem.
Indiana Poetry Out
Loud champion Shelby Newland, from Bloomington High School South, took
first place in the spoken category, with second place going to Gabrielle D.
Kunzika, from Classical Magnet School in Connecticut.
View Shelby’s recitation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ca8NPhgDOM
“We’re elated that Shelby’s original composition earned top
honors in the Poetry Ourselves
competition,” said Wendy Knapp, Indiana Poetry
Out Loud state coordinator. “Not only has Shelby shown herself to be
proficient in the art of recitation, but this accolade also highlights her
skills as a writer. We’re proud to have Shelby representing the Hoosier state.”
Theo Cai, from Hockaday School in Texas placed first in the
written category, with second place honors taken by Megan Kim from Cascade
Christian High School in Oregon.
Originally presented as a companion event to the 2016 Poetry Out Loud National Finals, Poetry Ourselves gives students the
opportunity to demonstrate their creative writing and recitation talents.
Poetry Out Loud is
a Partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry
Foundation. The program encourages the study of great poetry by offering
education materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high school
students across the country.
The Indiana Arts Commission and the Indiana State Library are partners in presenting the Indiana Poetry Out Loud competition. For more information about the Indiana Poetry Out Loud competition, visit http://www.in.gov/library/5580.htm.
The Indiana
Arts Commission is dedicated to the vision of the arts everywhere, every day,
for everyone in Indiana.
###
| 
