World Literature Today Announces Poetry Out Loud Contest for Norman Students
WHAT: This Thursday, January 7, students from Norman High School will compete in the national recitation contest known as Poetry Out Loud. World Literature Today, the University of Oklahoma’s award-winning magazine of international literature and culture, will host the event at 7pm at The Depot in Norman. The competition, presented in partnership with Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, 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. Over the past 10 years, Poetry Out Loud has reached nearly 3 million students, more than 9,500 schools, and thousands of teachers across the country. The winner of this competition will advance to a regional Poetry Out Loud contest in February. The Oklahoma champion will then advance to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals on May 3-4, 2016, in Washington DC, where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed.
WHO: Oklahoma poets Julia McConnell and Karen Schiler as well as the state’s two most recent poets laureate, Ben Myers and Nathan Brown, will judge the competition. WLT editor in chief Daniel Simon will serve as emcee.
WHEN: 7:00-8:30pm, January 7, 2016 (View the Facebook event to add to your calendar.)
WHERE: The Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman. Attendance is free and open to the public, although seating is limited. Contact: Shari Ransley Jackson, Executive Director, 307-9320.
FOLLOW: Poetry Out Loud is on Twitter @worldlittoday, @PoetryOutLoud, and @NEAarts, #POL16
CONTACT:
Daniel Simon, Editor in Chief
World Literature Today
325-0317 | [email protected]
