"We are extremely proud of all the students involved in California Poetry Out Loud, from the 40,000 classroom participants to the 27 county winners who wow'd thousands in the Senate Chambers on March 16." - California Arts Council

Cheryl Evans, a senior from Deer Valley High in Antioch, took first place in the Contra Costa County "Poetry Out Loud" competition on February 7. Evans was one of thousands of students across the state to participate in the national recitation contest, a program run by the California Arts Council in the state and started by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to engage high-school students in the presentation of poetry through memorization and performance. Evans advanced to the California state finals that took place in Sacramento on March 15, 2010. At stake were hundreds of dollars on the state competition level and thousands at the national finals of Poetry Out Loud.

Cheryl Evans gave stunning recitations along with a very competitive pool of finalists, including students from Delta Academy for the Performing Arts, Dougherty Valley, Independence High, Las Lomas High, Miramonte High, Monte Vista, Mt. Diablo High, Pittsburg High, Richmond High, Salesian High and Venture High. Countywide, over 2000 students memorized a poem for the program this year.

In a close race, Second Place went to Jenni Lopez from Delta Academy for the Performing Arts, and Third Place to Abel Pineda from Richmond High.

"Young people interested in rap and slam contests can be surprisingly interested in classical poetry when it's presented through the Poetry Out Loud competition," said Muriel Johnson, Director of the California Arts Council. "We've seen students from all backgrounds and academic levels embrace this program wholeheartedly. It can change their lives."

One of the goals of the Poetry Out Loud program is to foster the next generation of literary readers by capitalizing on the latest trends in poetry: recitation and performance. Poetry Out Loud competitions start in the classroom, then at the school, region, state, and national finals, similar to the structure of the spelling bee. The national initiative is part of an attempt to bring literary arts to students, a critical need in U.S. schools, according to a 2004 NEA report Reading at Risk that found a dramatic decline in literary reading, especially among younger readers.

Addendum to this announcement: Cheryl Evans won 3rd Place in the Poetry Out Loud State Finals competition on March 15th. Watch for Cheryl's interview to be published in the next ART BEAT.

View the video of Cheryl's recitation at the state competition here.

More information can be found at http://www.cac.ca.gov/poetryoutloud/index.php and www.poetryoutloud.org