Austin-San Marcos, TX (1888PressRelease)
March 18, 2008 - Organized by the Writers' League of Texas, The Texas State Finals of Poetry Out Loud were held at the historic Caswell House in Austin on Saturday, March 15, and Stanley Jackson of Carver Magnet High School in Houston won the honor of representing Texas at the Nationals Finals, to be held in Washington D.C. on April 29, 2008.
Stanley Jackson wins a $200 prize as well as an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington D.C. to compete in the National Finals with students from all 50 states. The winner of the National Competition will receive a $20,000 college scholarship.
Poetry Out Loud is a nationwide poetry recitation competition for high school students. Students select anthologized American poetry for their performance. Across the country, over 150,000 high school students participated in Poetry Out Loud competitions this year.
In Texas, the Writers' League of Texas coordinates the program with support from the Texas Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation. The Writers' League of Texas is a non-profit literary arts organization, based in Austin, that promotes literacy and the literary arts statewide.
This year, 17 Texas high schools sent student representatives to the state finals. These students were chosen in local high school competitions held earlier in March.
Texas State Finalists:
Keystone School, San Antonio Auburn Sky Gonzales
The Academy at Ector Junior High, Odessa Dylan Dakota Batch
Connally High School, Austin Patrick O'Rourke
Dripping Springs High School, Dripping Springs Morgan Passino
Carver Magnet High School, Houston Stanley Jackson
Del Valle High School, Del Valle James Lynch
North East School of the Arts, San Antonio Addie Cooper
Incarnate Word High School, San Antonio Yolitzin Lopez
Bryan High School, Bryan Brandon Nichols
Rudder High School, Bryan Andrew Carson
Churchill High School, San Antonio Sarah Lavere
St. Mary's Hall, San Antonio Madeline Low
Providence High School, San Antonio Robin Martinez
Int. School of the Americas, San Antonio Bridget Clark
Robert E. Lee High School, San Antonio Michael Fraser
St. Anthony High School, San Antonio Angela Alonzo
Central Catholic High School, San Antonio Gabriel Rivera
Liberal Arts and Science Academy HS, Austin Faith Barksdale
The event was judged by a panel of Austin-area poets and artists:
Judges
Kurt Heinzelman
Moira Muldoon
D'Arcy Randall
Scott Wiggerman
Gabrielle Faust
Throughout the spring semester, the Writers' League of Texas sent the following poets into schools to train and coach students on memorizing and reciting poetry:
Poet Coaches
Beverly Monestier
Susan Somers-Willett
Chuck Taylor
More information about Poetry Out Loud can be found at www.poetryoutloud.org.
More information about the Writers’ League of Texas can be found at www.writersleague.org.
