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Arts Commission News

MAC Presents Poetry Out Loud State Finals

DATE:          March 2, 2010  

CONTACT:    Susan Dobbs, Public Relations Director

601/359-6031, sdobbs@arts.state.ms.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

JACKSON— The Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) is proud to present the state finals for Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest on Thursday, March 11, 2010. The event will be held at 1:00pm in the Auditorium at Mississippi Public Broadcasting. The event is free and open to the public.  The competition, presented in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) 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.  The Mississippi competition began at the classroom level; then a contest was held at each participating school to select the winner.  Each participating school's winner advanced to semi-final rounds held in three regions of the state.  Nine finalists, three from each region will participate in the state finals. 

Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the mastery of great poetry by offering educational materials and a dynamic competition to high schools across the country.  The winner of the statewide competition will advance to the National Finals in Washington, D.C on April 26-27, 2010.  More than 300,000 students across the country are expected to take part in Poetry Out Loud this year.

At the state finals each contestant will recite two poems that they selected from an anthology of more than 600 classic and contemporary poems.  Four of the students will then advance to the final round when they will recite their third poem choice.

The winner of the Poetry Out Loud Mississippi finals will receive $200, and the winner’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books.  The state champion will also receive an all-expenses-paid trip (with a chaperone) to compete in the National Finals where they will compete for $50,000 in awards and school stipends, with a $20,000 prize for the National Champion.

The Mississippi Arts Commission is a state agency, funded by the Mississippi Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation, The Phil Hardin Foundation, the Mississippi Endowment for the Arts at the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson and other private sources.  MAC is the official grants-making and service agency for the arts in Mississippi. The agency serves as an active supporter and promoter of arts in community life and in arts education.

For more information contact the Mississippi Arts Commission at 601/359-6030

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