The Poetry Out Loud: Recitation

Recitation

A recitation is a presentation made by a student to demonstrate knowledge of a subject or to provide instruction to others. In some academic institutions the term is used for a presentation by a teaching assistant or instructor, under the guidance of a senior faculty member, that supplements...

 Contest was created in 2006

2006 in poetry

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* French public notary Patrick Huet unveils Pieces of Hope to the Echo of the World in Lyon...

 by the National Endowment for the Arts

National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...

 and The Poetry Foundation. The contest was created to increase awareness in the art of performing poetry, with substantial cash prizes being awarded to schools that participated as well as representatives from each of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The contest features a list of about 600 poems for students to choose from. In some cases, qualifiers were held at a scholastic level with each student performing two poems. The finalist from each school went to the state level to perform three, and the state finalists later performed the same three poems in Washington D.C. during the second week of May, 2006.

Competition background

Originally created as a means by which students could become more involved in poetry and the spoken word, the Poetry Out Loud competition is currently run in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Each state runs its own competition relatively independent of all others. In general, a high school competition is followed by a state-wide competition. State Champions then compete in Washington D.C. for the top prize.
In order to facilitate a smooth and effective competition, competitors are divided into three groups, or regions. Each region holds its own semifinal, and sends four competitors to the final round. The final 12 then each recite two poems, and the top five recite a third poem. after this third poem has been recited, judges (usually celebrities of the poetry world, or well-known literary figures) select the Winner, and two runners-up.

2006 Winners

Jackson Hille of Columbus Alternative High School

Columbus Alternative High School

Columbus Alternative High School is a public high school located on the north side of Columbus, Ohio. It is a part of the Columbus City Schools district. The school is a magnet school for college-bound students in Columbus, with both AP and IB programs...

 in Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 is the National Champion. He received a $20,000 scholarship courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts. Other honors went to Teal Van Dyck of Bow High School

Bow High School

Bow High School is a four-year public high school located in Bow, New Hampshire, USA, as part of the Bow School District. The principal is John House-Myers who took over in June 2006 from George Edwards who had been principal since the school's establishment....

 in New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, who won second place and a $10,000 scholarship. Kellie Anae of Mid-Pacific Institute

Mid-Pacific Institute

Mid-Pacific Institute is a private, co-educational college preparatory school for grades Pre-K and K-12, offering programs of study in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and the Mid-Pacific School of the Arts . Mid-Pacific Institute is located on in Mānoa Valley, near the...

 in Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 won third place and a $5,000 scholarship.

2007 Winners

The 2007 National Poetry Out Loud Champion was Amanda Fernandez, of the District of Columbia. Branden Emanual Wellington of Indiana placed second, and third place went to Alanna Rivera, of Virginia.

2008 Winners

Representing the Virgin Islands, Shawntay Henry became the 2008 National Champion; the first time the Virgin Islands participated in the competition. Ms. Henry was a 10th grade student at the time of her award. Her competition winning poems included "Fredrick Douglas", by Robert Hayden; the performance of which was notably powerful.

2009 Winners

With the Poetry Out Loud program growing at an incredible rate, more than 300,000 students competed in the nationwide competition in 2009. First Place went to the Representative from Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia, William Farley. Second place was awarded to Barbara Gooding, of Kentucky. Kareem Sayegh, representing Illinois, was awarded third place. Rounding out the top five were Mido Aly, of Ohio, and Wiyaka His Horse Is Thunder, of South Dakota.

2010 Winners

First Place went to the representative from Rhode Island, Amber Rose Johnson. Second place was awarded to Ruth Haile, of South Dakota. Nora Sandler, representing Maryland, was awarded third place.

2011 Winners

Youssef Biaz

Youssef Biaz

Youssef Biaz is a spoken word artist from Auburn, Alabama. He was the 2011 national champion of the poetry recitation contest Poetry Out Loud....

 of Auburn High School in Auburn, Alabama

Auburn, Alabama

Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama with a 2010 population of 53,380. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area...

 captured the national title with his reading of Elizabeth Bishop

Elizabeth Bishop

Elizabeth Bishop was an American poet and short-story writer. She was the Poet Laureate of the United States from 1949 to 1950, a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1956 and a National Book Award Winner for Poetry in 1970. Elizabeth Bishop House is an artists' retreat in Great Village, Nova Scotia...

's "Filling Station". The runner-up prize went to Victoria DiMartile of Fort Mitchell, Kentucky

Fort Mitchell, Kentucky

As of the census of 2010, there were 8,207 people, 3,530 households, and 2,033 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,581.8 people per square mile . There were 3,744 housing units at an average density of 1,195.0 per square mile...

, while DeVonna Daisy Smith of Reading, Pennsylvania

Reading, Pennsylvania

Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...

placed third.