[OregonArts] Oregon State Poetry Out Loud Winners Announced

[D'Arcy, Christine T]

Brynn Tran, 16, of Lakeridge High School, Lake Oswego, To Represent Oregon in National Poetry Out Loud Contest
Alexander Barnes, 15, Freshman at Ashland High School, is Oregon Runner-up

March 13, 2010 - Salem, ORE. - The Oregon Arts Commission announces that Brynn Tran, 16, a junior at Lakeridge High School in Lake Oswego, won Oregon's 2010 statewide Poetry Out Loud competition.  The state competition took place over two days, with the finals on March 13, 2010 at the Kroc Center in Salem.  Poetry Out Loud is a collaborative project of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation and the Oregon Arts Commission.


As winner of the Oregon competition, Tran wins $200 and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, DC for herself and a chaperone.  Her school receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books.  Alexander Barnes, 15, an Ashland High School freshman, was declared the state runner-up.  His prize is $100, with his school library receiving $200 for poetry purchases.  Every participant received a copy of Deer Drink the Moon, an anthology of Oregon poetry edited by Liz Nakawaza and published by Ooligan Press.



In Washington, Brynn Tran will represent Oregon against 52 other contestants from the states, the District of Columbia, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The national competition takes place April 25 - 27 at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium and awards a total of $50,000 in prize money to 12 finalists ($20,000 for the winner; $10,000 to the first runner up; $5,000 in to the second runner-up; and $1,000 each to the other nine finalists). Their schools receive $500 for their libraries.   In all, Poetry Out Loud awards more then $100,000 at state- and national-level contests.


Oregon had 5,500 students at 24 high schools participate in Poetry Out Loud this year. All the state-level contestants prepared three poems from a 400-poem anthology provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.  Each recited two poems, with seven finalists reading a third.  The finalists were judged by Oregon Poet Laureate Lawson Inada; Susan Coromel, actor and theater professor, Willamette University; Renee Mitchell, Pulitzer Prize-nominated former journalist, writer and actor; and Judith Montgomery, Oregon Book Award-winning poet and Oregon Arts Commission and Literary Arts fellow.  Accuracy was judged by actor Raissa Fleming and sign interpreter Kara Gournaris. The criteria included accuracy, voice inflection, evidence of understanding, level of difficulty and eye contact.

The seven state-level finalists were:
Ashland High School:  Alexander Barnes, age 15, grade 9 (Janet Eisenberg, coordinator)
Bandon High School: Caitlyn McLauchlin, age 17, grade 12 (Ellen Howard, coordinator)
Cascade Christian High School, Medford:  Kelli Alcantara, age 16, grade 11 (Suzanne Ray, coordinator)
Crook County High School, Prineville:  Nathaniel Dunaway, age 17, grade 11 (Anita Hoffman, coordinator)
Lakeridge High School, Lake Oswego:  Brynn Tran, age 16, grade 11 (Rollin Dickinson, coordinator)
Oregon School for the Deaf, Salem:  SimoneRenee Moore (from Ashland), age 19, grade 12 (Gayle Robertson, coordinator)
Salem Academy:  Zoe Thatcher, age 16, grade 11 (Sara Patrick, coordinator)

with the remaining school-level winners being:
Centennial High School, Gresham: Krestina Aziz, age 17, grade 12 (Rita Ramstad, coordinator)
Center for Advanced Learning, Gresham: Alandra Godinez, age 17, grade 12 (Jeanne Sheets-Sagoo, coordinator)
Condon High School:  Delaney Edwards, age 18, grade 12 (Mike Keown, coordinator)
Grants Pass High School:  Jordan Moeny, age 17, grade 11 (Tori Marshall, coordinator)
Hidden Valley High School, Grants Pass:  Maya Cross-Killingsworth, age 16, grade 10 (Julia Richardson, coordinator)
Hood River Valley High School:  Patrick Sadil, age 18, grade 12 (Regena Rafelson, coordinator)
Lake Oswego High School, Kisky Holwerda, age 18, grade 12 (Jami Wray & Lisa Mitchell, coordinators)
Madison High School, Portland, Sabrina Ruiz, age 15, grade 10 (Erin McNulty, coordinator)
Metropolitan Learning Center, Portland: Ian Selland, age 15, grade 9 (Stephen Lambert, coordinator)
Oregon City High School, Kalen Forsberg, age 15, grade 10 (coordinator:  Patrick McDonald)
Redmond High School:  Audrey Saxton, age 15, grade 10 (Hilda Beltran & Rachel Sarrett, coordinators)
Sherwood High School: Sierra Donohue, age 16, grade 11 (Jared Jones, coordinator)
Springfield Academy of Arts and Academics:  Mekayla Plummer-Brous, age 16, grade 10 (Scott Crowell, coordinator)
Veritas School, Newberg:  Judah Newby, age 17, grade 12 (Megan Hills, coordinator)
West Salem High School:  Jackie Lubbers, age 18, grade 12 (Christina Eddy, coordinator)
Woodburn Arts and Culture Academy:  Obdulia Valle Ramirez, age 16, grade 11 (Mindy Brooks, coordinator)


Tran recited "Inside Out" by Diane Wakoski, "Her Kind" by Anne Sexton, and "The Canonization" by John Donne.  Barnes recited "Domestic Violence" by Eavan Boland, "Sonnet XVIII:  Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day" by William Shakespeare, and "Detroit, Tomorrow" by Philip Levine.


Oregon has a strong track record in the national competition.  In 2006, Michael Santiago of Gresham was one of 10 national finalists; in 2008, Sophia Soberon of Brookings took second place (she's featured on a DVD of Poetry Out Loud Best Performances published by the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation); and in 2009, Tiffany Hinano Hill of Salem and Eugene was the first deaf student ever to participate, at the state or national level, in the contest.



Brynn Tran who plans to study literature, writing and humanities in college, said that what she liked best about Poetry Out Loud is "discovering a new way to experience poetry.  Recitation is really the best way to enjoy poetry."  She also enjoyed coming together with all the other contestants from across the state and felt that, "even though we hadn't met before, we became instant friends and were very supportive of each other."



The finals opened with a signed recitation of Diane Wakoski's "Inside Out" by Tiffany Hinano Hill, the 2009 Oregon State Champion.  While the judges discussed the scores from the final recitations, Headband, Willamette University's acclaimed all male a cappella chorus, delighted the crowd.



Poetry Out Loud encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance and competition.  More than 200,000 students across the country are expected to take part in Poetry Out Loud this year.  For more information:  www.poetryoutloud.org<http://www.poetryoutloud.org>.



For more information about Poetry Out Loud in Oregon, contact Deb Vaughn, arts education coordinator, Oregon Arts Commission:  503-986-0085, deborah.vaughn at state.or.us<mailto:deborah.vaughn at state.or.us>.





About the National Endowment for the Arts
The NEA is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts - both new and established - bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education.  Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the largest national funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities and military bases.

About the Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture.  One of the largest literary organizations in the world, it exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience.  The Poetry Foundation seeks to be a leader in shaping a receptive climate for poetry by developing new audiences, creating new avenues for delivery, and encouraging new kinds of poetry through innovative literary prizes and programs.  In addition to launching a major new poetry Web site, the Poetry Foundation recently conducted the first-ever study designed to find out where poetry stands in American culture.  For more information, please visit PoetryFoundation.org.

About the Oregon Arts Commission
The Oregon Arts Commission provides leadership, funding and arts programs through its grants, special initiatives and services.   Nine commissioners, appointed by the Governor, determine arts needs and establish policies for public support of the arts. The Arts Commission became part of Business Oregon (formerly Oregon Economic and Community Development Department) in 1993 in recognition of the expanding role the arts play in the broader social, economic and educational arenas of Oregon communities.  In 2003, the Oregon legislature moved the operations of the Oregon Cultural Trust to the Arts Commission, streamlining operations and making use of the Commission's expertise in grantmaking, arts and cultural information and community cultural development.  The Arts Commission is supported with General Funds appropriated by the Oregon legislature, federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and funds from the Oregon Cultural Trust.

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