Hamburg Senior Named Poetry Out Loud State Champ

Reciting "Deliberate" by Amy Uyematsu, "The Slave Auction" by Frances Harper and "The Mother" by Gwendolyn Brooks, she received the top score from the judges for her ability to convey the meaning of her selected poems.

Page competed against 17 other finalists during the state competition at Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock. Contestants recited works they selected from an anthology of more than 400 classic and contemporary poems. The competition was emceed by Clayton Scott, Poet Laureate of Fayetteville.

As the state champion, Page receives $200 from The Poetry Foundation and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete for the national championship on April 26-28. Her school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books.

Layla Smalley, a freshman from Southside High School in Batesville, was first runner-up and received $100, with $200 for her school library. Three additional finalists were recognized for their performances: Branson White, a junior from Fort Smith Southside High School; Timothy Werner, a senior from Academics Plus Charter School in Maumelle; and Jessica Collins, a senior from Rogers High School.

Created by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation to encourage high school students to memorize and perform great poems, Poetry Out Loud invites the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word, and theater into the English class.

The competition helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage. "The Poetry Out Loud program is a great tool because it helps the students gain a true appreciation of the power of language," said Joy Pennington, Arkansas Arts Council executive director.

The Arkansas Poetry Out Loud competition was presented by the Arkansas Arts Council in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. State partners were the Arkansas Literary Festival, the Arkansas Department of Education, EAST Initiative and Pulaski Technical College.

The other finalists from the school level competitions were: Taylor Luckadue, Hall Senior High School, Little Rock; Banah Ghadbian, Fayetteville High, Fayetteville; Blake Bost, Valley View High, Jonesboro; Ashley Chasteen, Jasper High, Jasper; Victoria Maloch, Emerson High, Emerson; Haulston Mann, Westside High, Jonesboro; Jasmine Burress, Nashville High, Nashville; Sarah Casey, Deer High, Deer; Abie Petty, Rector High, Rector; Emily Anna Gudde, Bismarck High, Bismarck; Terrica Malone, Rison High, Rison; Lacamra Watson, England High, England; and Chad Burris, Alma High, Alma.

The Poetry Foundation will be awarding $50,000 total in scholarships and school stipends at the National Finals, with at least a $20,000 college scholarship for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion.

The Arkansas Arts Council was established in 1966 to enable the state of Arkansas to receive funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1971, Act 359 (A.C.A . § 13-8-101 et seq.) gave independent agency status to the Arts Council, with an executive director and a 17-member council appointed by the governor. In 1975, the Arts Council became an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

As an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, the Arkansas Arts Council shares the goals of all its agencies, of preserving and enhancing the heritage of the state of Arkansas.

The other agencies are: Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Historic Arkansas Museum, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and the Old State House Museum. Funding for the Arkansas Arts Council and its programs is provided by the state of Arkansas and the National Endowment for the Arts.