Kwig student vying for poetry prize

Published on February 9th, 2010

By ALASKA NEWSPAPERS STAFF

A Kwigillingok student will face off against seven other students in a statewide poetry contest.

Kira Wilkinson will participate in the Poetry Out Loud:National Recitation Contest state finals in Juneau on Feb. 23, according to a written statement from the Juneau Arts & Humanities Council and Alaska Arts Education Consortium.

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.

Wilkinson will challenge Jessica Wilder from Anchorage, Susan Way from Fairbanks, Sami Martinez from Juneau, April Hostetter from Igiugig, Berett Wilber from Sitka, Kristen Luchsinger from Wasilla and Elizabeth Porter from Delta Junction.

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, D.C.

Nearly 300,000 students across the country took part in Poetry Out Loud in 2008-2009.

At the Juneau Arts and Culture Center, contestants will recite works they selected from an anthology of more than 600 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 Web site, a 'best performances' DVD, and a CD featuring poetry recitations by well-known actors and writers such as Anthony Hopkins and Rita Dove.

The winner of the Poetry Out Loud Alaska finals will receive $200, and the winner's school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The second place finalist will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library.

All state contenders will receive an Alaska book of poetry for participating. The state champion of Poetry Out Loud Alaska final will receive an all-expense paid trip (with chaperone) to compete in the National Finals on April 26-27.

The Poetry Out Loud National Finals will bestow a total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends, with a $20,000 prize for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion.

The finals will be held at the Juneau Arts & Culture Center.

The master of ceremonies will be Joe Nelson, Director of Admissions at University of Alaska Southeast.

Guest judges for the event include: Willie Hensley (well-known writer and politician raised in Kotzebue, Alaska), Linda Schandelmeier (Fairbanks writer and poet), Emily Wall (Juneau writer and editor of Southeast literary magazine Tidal Echoes), Heather Lends (award-winning Anchorage columnist and author from Haines), and Dave Hunsaker (Juneau playwright and screenwriter).

The event is free and open to the public. For more information on the state finals, contact the Juneau Arts & Humanities Council at (907)586-ARTS (-2787).