The first Nevada Poetry Out Loud district competition is set for 2:30 p.m. Monday, at Carson High School. Students will compete to represent Carson City at the Nevada State Finals in Reno on March 19. The Nevada State Champion earns $1,000, and $1,000 for his or her school to support literary programs, and travels to Washington, D.C. to compete for $50,000 in scholarships and school prizes at the National Poetry Out Loud Finals. Those who place second and third at the Nevada State Finals receive $500 each and $500 for their schools.
In 2015, thousands of students, teachers and coaches participated in the 10th Annual Nevada Poetry Out Loud Program. Last year’s state champion Dominique Groffman of Douglas County represented Nevada at the national finals.
Registration for all other counties is open to all high school-aged students in Nevada public, private, charter, parochial and alternative schools and home school associations through Dec. 1.
The Nevada Arts Council, in partnership with the Nevada Department of Education, and Poetry Out Loud are sponsoring the event made possible through funding and leadership of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.
Poetry Out Loud begins at the local level as students learn about, memorize and finally present out loud poetry from the website, www.poetryoutloud.org. Participants advance from school to district competitions and then to the Nevada State Finals, where the stakes are high.
Classroom teachers are provided with free multimedia curriculum materials all aligned to national standards — a Learning Recitation audio guide, a teachers’ guide, posters and comprehensive website, http://www.poetryoutloud.org — to augment their regular poetry curriculum with poetry recitation and a school-level competition. The student winner and a chaperone from each participating school district receive support to attend the Nevada State Finals on March 19 in Reno.
Teachers are invited to find out more about 2016 Nevada Poetry Out Loud and to register to participate by Dec. 1 at the Nevada Arts Council’s website, nac.nevadaculture.org or contact Maryjane Dorofachuk at (702) 486-3738 or mdorofachuk@NevadaCulture.org.
