Arts Council Napa Valley announces this year’s countywide poetry out loud contest winner and runner-up
Arts Council Napa Valley is pleased to announce this year’s student winners for the County-wide contest for Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. The first-place winner and recipient of a $250 award is Maddie Chiu, Vintage High School Junior. The first runner-up winner and recipient of a $100 award is Reggie Ellison, New Technology High School Junior.
The competition, presented in partnership with Arts Council Napa Valley, California Arts Council, 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. On February 15th, six high school students from Napa County participated in the Poetry Out Loud County Competition hosted at the Napa Valley College Performing Art Center Black Box Theater and sponsored by the California Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, The Poetry Foundation, Napa Bookmine, and The Robert Louis Stevenson Museum.
Chiu, who will now move on to the state competition, recited “Cartoon Physics, part 1” by Nick Flynn, followed by “Planetarium” by Adrienne Rich in the second round. Ellison, our first runner-up, started with “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes and finished with “The Sun Came” by Etheridge Knight.
A much-deserved recognition also goes to the contestants who won first and second place at their respective schools & organizations across the county. These students’ performances stood out amongst their peers, carrying them to the county-wide competition.
From New Technology High School, Madeline Galante; from Calistoga Junior Senior High School, Zeeza Cervantes and Sean Birge; from Napa High School, Wren Pinter; and from Vintage High School, Geoffrey Weber.
Maddie Chiu, the Napa County winner, will advance to the California State contest and be aided in creating a video that will be live-streamed on March 16th, 2023. From there, winners will ultimately go to the National Finals in Washington, DC, from April 30th to May 2nd, 2024. To learn more about the California Poetry Out Loud contest, visit www.poetryoutloud.org.
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About Poetry Out Loud
Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the state and jurisdictional arts agencies. Since 2005, Poetry Out Loud has grown to reach more than 4 million students and 65,000 teachers from 16,000 schools in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa. Learn more at poetryoutloud.org.
About Arts Council Napa Valley
Arts Council Napa Valley enriches the lives of the greater Napa community through arts and culture. With roots back to 1963, the Arts Council advances the arts in Napa County through diverse cultural programs and community services responding to our three core initiatives: Cultural Tourism, Art in Public Spaces, and Arts in Education. For more information and to become a member, please visit www.artscouncilnapavalley.org.