Poetry Out Loud

In 2010, Placer County will participate for the fourth year in the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest.

Presented by the The California Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation, the Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest encourages high school students to learn about poetry through memorization, performance and competition. 

Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure that begins at the classroom level. Winners will advance via classroom and school-wide competition, to the Placer County Regional competition, then to the California state competition, and ultimately to the National Finals.

Each winner at the state level will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC to compete for the national championship. The state winner's school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. A runner-up in each state will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library. A total of $50,000 in scholarships and school stipends at the National Finals will be awarded to the winners.
Each year, PlacerArts facilitates teacher participation at high schools in Placer County and coordinates the Placer County Regional competition for all school-wide finalists. PlacerArts awards the Placer County Regional Champion $200 and provides certificates and congratulatory gifts to each regional competition student participant.

The 2009 Placer County Winner was Shannon Wagner from Granite Bay High School.  The first runner-up was Dustin Ansley from Del Oro High School.

Roshawnda Bettencourt, a twelfth grade student from Oakmont High School in Roseville, took first place in the Placer County Poetry Out Loud competition on February 21, 2008 at Roseville High School's J.B. Gale Theater, and then went on to win the California State Finals in Sacramento on March 14, 2008. She placed in the top twelve in the Poetry Out Loud National Finals on April 28-29 in Washington, DC.

Students and teachers interested in participating may contact Judi Nicholson, e-mail Judi@PlacerArts.org. For more information on the Poetry Out Loud Program, see www.poetryoutloud.org.