American Canyon High School Student Named Winner in Napa County "Poetry Out Loud" Contest
Stella Palado wins local competition that emphasizes language skill and public speaking; advances to the state finals in Sacramento March 20 - 21st.
February 11, 2011, Napa, Calif.-Stella Palado, a sophomore at American Canyon High School in American Canyon, CA., took first place in the 2nd Annual Napa County "Poetry Out Loud" competition on February 9, 2011. Palado 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. Palado advances to the California state finals in Sacramento on March 20 - 21st, 2011. At stake are hundreds of dollars on the state competition level and thousands at the national finals of Poetry Out Loud.
The program is locally coordinated by Arts Council Napa Valley, a grantee of the California Arts Council.
Participating schools for the 2010-11 countywide competition included American Canyon and New Technology High Schools. Palado was selected as a winner by a judging panel of local educators and administrators, including Napa Mayor Jill Techel, Danis Kreimeier of the Napa City-County Library, Anne Evans of the Napa Valley Writer's Conference, and Napa County Poet Laureate Michael Waterson. The countywide competition's first runner-up was Whitney Davis, a junior at New Technology High School.
"We are thrilled to bring this engaging program to Napa County high schools again this year," said Kristina Young, Executive Director of Arts Council Napa Valley. "To see these students interpret the poems is inspiring. They truly are emerging artists-once they take the stage, they transform from shy, young adults, into bona fide and breathtaking poets."
Palado astounded the judges with her recitations of Beautiful Wreckage by W.D. Ehrhart and The Chimney Sweeper: When My Mother Died I Was Very Young by William Blake.
"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."
The Poetry out Loud program seeks 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.
For more information on Palado or to set up interviews, contact Christy Bors at Arts Council Napa Valley. General information can be found at www.cac.ca.gov and www.poetryoutloud.org, and reporters interested in more information about the statewide program may contact California Arts Council communications director Mary Beth Barber at mbarber[at]caartscouncil[dot]com or 916-322-6588.
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