Poetry as Oral Art Form Remains Popular in S.C. Schools After 5 Years

Tagged with: Poetry

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Teens in 36 South Carolina high schools are gearing up once again to compete for the state’s spot in the Poetry Out Loud national finals and a chance at a $20,000 college scholarship.

n its fifth year, “Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest” continues to be popular among South Carolina students. Teens in 36 high schools throughout the state are gearing up once again to compete for the state’s spot in the national finals and a chance at a $20,000 college scholarship.

The S.C. Arts Commission, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, coordinates the South Carolina program, which aims to foster the next generation of literary readers by capitalizing on the latest trends in poetry—recitation and performance.

Students progress from classroom to schoolwide contests to compete in one of three regional competitions: Lowcountry, Midlands or Upstate. Finalists will advance to the state competition in March. The state champion will receive $200, a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books for their school library, and a free trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the national finals in April. A runner up will also receive $100, and their library will receive a $200 poetry book stipend.

Around 200,000 students in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico participated in last year’s competition. More than 4,500 students from 31 South Carolina high schools took part in the 2009 program—an impressive increase over the eight schools that piloted the program in 2005. Shannon Laribo from Ashley Hall in Charleston was selected as the 2009 state champion and represented the state in the national finals.

Additional organizations and individuals partnering with the Arts Commission to carry out this statewide project are the S.C. Literary Arts Partnership, Hub City Writers Project, Lowcountry Initiative for the Literary Arts, Sumter County Cultural Commission, Columbia Museum of Art and Marjory Wentworth, a former S.C. state poet laureate.