Norfolk, NE — Norfolk Arts Center and Nebraska Arts Council announce the state regional semi-final competition 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. On February, 12, 2014 at 4p.m., seven students from area high schools will participate in the semi-finals at The Norfolk Arts Center, 305 N. 5th Street, Norfolk, NE.
The students competing in Poetry Out Loud are Elizabeth Rembert, Cedar Catholic High School, Myron Hunt, Keya Paha County High School, Emily Adelman, Madison High School, Deanna Tomjack, Saint Mary’s High School, Amanda Pohlman, Skutt Catholic High School,Caetlin Krysl, Stuart Public High School and Shelby Castor, Wheeler Central Schools.
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. Some 375,000 students from more than 2,000 high schools took part in the 2012–2013 Poetry Out Loud program.
At The Norfolk Arts Center, contestants will recite works they selected from an anthology of more than 700 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, a Learning Recitation DVD, and a CD featuring poetry recitations by well‐ known actors and writers such as Anthony Hopkins and Rita Dove.